# Hacer Preterite Conjugation: Complete Spanish Guide > Learn hacer preterite conjugation with full charts, examples, and tips. Master this irregular Spanish verb's past tense forms: hice, hiciste, hizo, and more. **URL:** https://migaku.com/blog/spanish/hacer-preterite-conjugation-spanish-guide **Last Updated:** 2026-04-28 **Tags:** fundamentals, vocabulary, grammar, phrases --- ## How to Conjugate Hacer in the Spanish Preterite If you're [learning Spanish](https://migaku.com/blog/spanish/best-spanish-learning-apps), you've probably run into the verb **hacer** (to do/to make) a million times already. It's one of those verbs that shows up everywhere. The thing is, when you need to talk about what you did or made in the past, hacer gets a little weird. Actually, pretty weird. The preterite tense in Spanish is what you use for completed actions in the past. "I did my homework," "She made dinner," "We took a trip." All of that requires the preterite. And hacer? Yeah, it's irregular. The good news is that once you learn the pattern, it sticks pretty well because you'll use it constantly. Let me walk you through exactly how to conjugate hacer in the preterite tense, show you the full chart, and give you some real examples so this actually makes sense. ## The Hacer Preterite Conjugation Chart Here's what you came for. The full conjugation table for hacer in the preterite tense: | Pronoun | Conjugation | English | |---------|-------------|---------| | yo | hice | I did/made | | tú | hiciste | you did/made (informal singular) | | él/ella/usted | hizo | he/she did/made, you did/made (formal) | | nosotros/nosotras | hicimos | we did/made | | vosotros/vosotras | hicisteis | you all did/made (informal plural, Spain) | | ellos/ellas/ustedes | hicieron | they did/made, you all did/made | Notice anything strange? The stem changes from "hac" to "hic" for most forms, and then to "hiz" for the third person singular. That's the irregular part. Regular verbs in Spanish would just keep their stem and add endings. Hacer says "nah, I'm doing my own thing." ## Why Is Hacer Irregular in the Preterite? Good question. Hacer is what we call an **[irregular verb](https://migaku.com/blog/spanish/best-spanish-anki-decks)** in Spanish, specifically in the preterite tense. The irregularity comes from a stem change that affects all the conjugations. Most regular Spanish verbs ending in -er would follow a predictable pattern in the preterite. Think of a verb like comer (to eat): comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron. Clean and simple. Hacer throws that pattern out the window. The stem becomes "hic" for most forms, but here's where it gets interesting: for the third person singular (él/ella/usted), it becomes "hizo" instead of "hició." Why? Because in Spanish, you can't have "ci" before "o" in this context. The language prefers "zo" to maintain the sound. It's a spelling convention that keeps pronunciation consistent. ## Breaking Down Each Form Let me give you some context for each conjugation so you can actually use them. **Yo hice** is probably the form you'll use most often when talking about yourself. "Hice mi tarea" (I did my homework), "Hice una torta" (I made a cake), "Hice ejercicio" (I exercised). Pretty straightforward once you remember that first person singular form. **Tú hiciste** is what you'd use when asking someone what they did. "¿Qué hiciste ayer?" (What did you do yesterday?) comes up in conversation constantly. You'll hear this one a lot. **Él/ella/usted hizo** is the third person singular. "Mi mamá hizo la cena" (My mom made dinner), "Juan hizo un gran trabajo" (Juan did a great job). Remember, this is the form with the "z" spelling. **Nosotros hicimos** is the "we" form. "Hicimos un viaje" (We took a trip), "Hicimos todo lo posible" (We did everything possible). This one looks almost regular, which is nice. **Vosotros hicisteis** is used mainly in Spain for the informal plural "you all." "¿Qué hicisteis el fin de semana?" (What did you all do on the weekend?). If you're learning Latin American Spanish, you'll use ustedes instead. **Ellos/ellas/ustedes hicieron** is the third person plural and the formal/Latin American plural "you all." "Ellos hicieron lo correcto" (They did the right thing), "¿Ustedes hicieron la reserva?" (Did you all make the reservation?). ## Preterite Tense vs. Other Past Tenses Here's the thing about Spanish [grammar](https://migaku.com/blog/spanish/spanish-grammar-guide): there are multiple ways to talk about the past, and they're not interchangeable. The **preterite tense** (pretérito indefinido) is for completed actions at specific times in the past. "I made dinner last night." "She did her homework yesterday." These are done deals, finished actions. The **imperfect tense** (pretérito imperfecto) describes ongoing or habitual actions in the past. For hacer, the imperfect forms are: hacía, hacías, hacía, hacíamos, hacíais, hacían. You'd use this for things like "I used to do my homework every day" (Hacía mi tarea todos los días) or "She was making dinner when I arrived" (Ella hacía la cena cuando llegué). The difference matters. "Hice la cena" means you completed making dinner. "Hacía la cena" means you were in the process of making dinner, or you used to make dinner regularly. The **present perfect** (pretérito perfecto) uses the auxiliary verb haber plus the past participle hecho: he hecho, has hecho, ha hecho, hemos hecho, habéis hecho, han hecho. This is for actions that have relevance to the present or happened in a time period that includes now. "I have done my homework" (He hecho mi tarea) suggests it's done and maybe you're showing it to someone now. ## Common Phrases and Examples with Hacer in the Preterite Let me give you some real examples you'll actually encounter: **¿Qué hiciste?** (What did you do?) This is probably the most common question you'll hear with hacer in the preterite. People ask this all the time about your day, your weekend, your vacation. **Hice lo que pude** (I did what I could). A super useful phrase when you tried your best but things didn't work out perfectly. **Ella hizo una pregunta** (She asked a question). Literally "she made a question," which sounds weird in English but is totally normal in Spanish. **Hicimos un trato** (We made a deal). Common in business or negotiation contexts. **¿Quién hizo esto?** (Who did this?) Useful when something happened and you need to know who's responsible. **No hice nada** (I didn't do anything). The double negative is correct in Spanish, by the way. You need both "no" and "nada." **Hicieron un buen trabajo** (They did a good job). Great for giving compliments. ## Subjunctive Preterite Forms Okay, this gets a bit more advanced, but if you're serious about learning Spanish, you should know that hacer also has preterite subjunctive forms. There are actually two sets: the imperfect subjunctive (which, confusingly, is based on the preterite) and the future subjunctive (which barely exists in modern Spanish). The **imperfect subjunctive** has two acceptable forms in Spanish: **-ra forms:** hiciera, hicieras, hiciera, hiciéramos, hicierais, hicieran **-se forms:** hiciese, hicieses, hiciese, hiciésemos, hicieseis, hiciesen Both are correct, though the -ra forms are more common in modern Spanish, especially in Latin America. You'd use these in sentences like "Si hiciera buen tiempo, iríamos a la playa" (If the weather were good, we would go to the beach) or "Me pidió que hiciera la tarea" (He asked me to do the homework). The subjunctive is its own beast in Spanish, and honestly, it deserves its own deep dive. But knowing these forms exist helps you recognize them when you see them. ## Memory Tips for Hacer Preterite Here's what helped me remember these forms: First, memorize "yo hice" as your anchor. Once you have that first person singular down, the rest follow a pattern. The stem is "hic" for everything except that third person singular. Second, remember the "z" spelling in "hizo." Think of it as Spanish's way of keeping the pronunciation smooth. You can't have "hició" because it would sound weird, so it becomes "hizo." Third, practice with the question "¿Qué hiciste?" Say it out loud a bunch of times. Since this is such a common question, getting it into your muscle memory helps anchor the whole conjugation pattern. Fourth, write out sentences using each form. Don't just stare at the chart. Actually use the verb in context. "Ayer hice ejercicio. Mi hermano hizo lo mismo. Nosotros hicimos una carrera." (Yesterday I exercised. My brother did the same. We had a race.) ## Looking for More Verbs Like Hacer? If you're dealing with hacer's irregular preterite, you should know there are other verbs that follow similar patterns. These are sometimes called "i-stem" preterits because they change to an "i" in the stem. **Querer** (to want) becomes: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron **Venir** (to come) becomes: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron **Poner** (to put) becomes: puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron **Poder** (to be able to) becomes: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron These verbs all share that irregular stem change in the preterite, and they all use the same set of endings. Once you learn the pattern with hacer, these other verbs become way easier to handle. ## Did Hacer Preterite Conjugation Change Over Time? Yeah, actually. Old Spanish had different forms that gradually evolved into what we use today. The modern preterite forms of hacer come from Latin "facere," and over centuries of linguistic evolution, the sounds shifted. In medieval Spanish, you'd see forms like "fize" instead of "hice." The "f" to "h" sound change is actually a major feature of Spanish's evolution from Latin. That's why Spanish has "hacer" where Italian has "fare" and French has "faire." All three come from the same Latin root, but Spanish dropped that "f" sound and eventually made it silent (represented by "h"). For practical purposes, you don't need to know this to use the verb correctly. But it's pretty cool if you're into language history. ## Common Mistakes with Hacer in the Preterite Let me tell you what trips people up: **Using "hacío" instead of "hizo."** This is super common because learners expect regular endings. Remember, it's "hizo" with a "z." **Confusing preterite with imperfect.** Saying "hacía" when you mean "hizo" changes your meaning completely. "Hacía la tarea" means you were doing or used to do homework. "Hice la tarea" means you completed it. **Forgetting the accent on "hicisteis."** In writing, that accent mark on the "i" matters. It shows where the stress falls. **Mixing up "hice" and "hace."** "Hice" is preterite (I did/made). "Hace" is present tense (he/she does/makes, or it makes as in weather). Totally different meanings. ## When to Use Hacer Preterite in Real Conversations You'll use the preterite tense of hacer constantly in Spanish. Any time you're talking about completed actions, finished projects, or specific things you did at definite times, you need the preterite. "¿Qué hiciste el fin de semana?" (What did you do on the weekend?) This question comes up every Monday in Spanish-speaking workplaces and schools. "Hice todas mis tareas" (I did all my homework). Students say this one a lot. "Mi abuela hizo este suéter" (My grandmother made this sweater). Talking about who created or made something. "Hicimos una fiesta" (We threw a party). Planning and events. "¿Quién hizo esta comida?" (Who made this food?) At dinner tables everywhere. The preterite is your go-to tense for storytelling about the past, reporting what happened, and discussing completed actions. Hacer shows up in all of these contexts because it's such a versatile verb. ## Hacer Preterite in Different Spanish Dialects The conjugation stays the same across Spanish dialects, which is great news. Whether you're learning Mexican Spanish, Argentinian Spanish, or Spanish from Spain, "hice" is "hice" everywhere. The main difference is with the vosotros form. In Latin America, vosotros isn't used in everyday speech. Instead, ustedes serves as both the formal and informal plural "you." So Latin American speakers would say "¿Qué hicieron ustedes?" where Spaniards might say "¿Qué hicisteis vosotros?" Some regions also use "vos" instead of "tú" (mainly Argentina, Uruguay, and parts of Central America), but the preterite form stays the same: "vos hiciste" uses the same conjugation as "tú hiciste." ## Practice Makes Perfect Honestly, the best way to get comfortable with hacer in the preterite is to use it. A lot. Read Spanish content where you'll see these forms in context. Watch Spanish shows where characters talk about what they did. Have conversations with Spanish speakers (or practice partners) where you recount your day. The conjugation chart is useful for reference, but you'll really internalize these forms through exposure and practice. After you've seen "hice" and "hizo" and "hicieron" a few hundred times in real contexts, they'll become automatic. Try keeping a simple journal in Spanish where you write a few sentences each day about what you did. "Hoy hice ejercicio. Después hice el desayuno. Mi hermana hizo lo mismo." Even basic sentences like these help cement the patterns. Anyway, if you're serious about learning Spanish through real content, Migaku's browser extension lets you look up conjugations and vocabulary instantly while watching Spanish shows or reading articles. Makes the whole immersion learning process way smoother. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.