Headword
 Primary auxiliary verb (El auxiliar)
Level
 [C], [D]
Language
 Spanish
Topic
 Grammar
Definition
 In Spanish, there are two auxiliaries, haber and estar. As in English, these verbs modify other verbs in a full verb phrase. However, they have very distinct usages. Haber is used for all compound tenses. Estar is used to form the continuous present tense. There is no form equivalent to the English auxiliary ‘do’, whether in the case of negatives, questions or emphatic assertions.
Notes
 1. As in English, the auxiliary haber is the main auxiliary used for reference to the past, whether perfect, ha comido, pluperfect, había comido, future perfect, habrá comido, conditional perfect, habría comido or past anterior, hubo comido.

2. Unlike in French or Italian there is no other auxiliary used to construct these tenses.

3. The auxiliary estar is used with the present participle to convey the notion that the action is in the process of taking place, e.g. estoy leyendo.

4. Whereas haber is used mainly as an auxiliary verb, estar can be used by itself as a main verb, e.g. Está en España / Está triste.

5. Occasionally other verbs replace estar to form a present continuous, e.g. Voy aprendiendo.
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Concept
 Categorisation
See also
 Aspect, Modal auxiliary verb, Tense, Verb

English, French, German