Habia (en. There was)

/aˈβia/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishSpanish

verb

Indicates the existence of something in the past.

There were many people at the party.

Había mucha gente en la fiesta.

Used as an auxiliary to form compound tenses.

I had finished the work before I left.

Había terminado el trabajo antes de irme.

Used to express conditions or situations in the past.

If there was rain, we didn't go out.

Si había lluvia, no salimos.

From the Latin 'habere', which means 'to have' or 'to contain'.

once upon a time

An expression used at the beginning of stories to indicate that something happened in a distant past.

había una vez

If there had been

It expresses a condition that was not fulfilled in the past.

Si hubiera habido

to have

Main verb from which 'había' derives.

haber

room

Enclosed space that serves as a place of residence.

habitación

It is used in informal conversations to refer to something that used to exist.

There was a rumor going around that I hadn’t heard.

Había un chisme por ahí que no había escuchado.