Has or Haz: How to Use Them Correctly in Spanish

Spanish is a super broad language, that even for native speakers brings us one or another little problem when writing it, speaking it, or even interpreting it. Within this panorama, there are words that sound exactly the same but have different meanings, and this is the case of the words we’ll talk about today: haz and has. Both are homophone words that usually create confusion, especially if we are students with thousands of things in our heads and we don’t have all the time in the world to learn the difference between has and haz.

But before going fully into it, let’s clear up doubts:

• Haz: Imperative of the verb hacer or a noun.

• Has: Verbal form and second person singular indicative of the verb haber.

Has or Haz of hacer, Example and Explanation

Has hecho or haz hecho? Up next we’ll reveal which is the correct form as well as its explanation.

“Has hecho todo de forma perfecta” → This is correct. As we mentioned before, has is the second person singular indicative of the verb haber, and it is used to form the present perfect tense, like in “has hecho.”

“Haz hecho todo de forma perfecta” → This is wrong! Haz is the imperative of the verb hacer, and it doesn’t work to form the present perfect tense.

Has or Haz: Difference

Let’s be honest, many times we think: how is it written, has or haz? Even phonetically they sound the same, except in places like Spain where the “z” in haz is pronounced in a different way; in those cases, it’s easier to identify the difference. But if you’re from LATAM, we hear and pronounce them in an identical way. In these regions they become homophone words (that sound the same but are written differently and have different meanings) because of a phenomenon called “seseo” (where the “z” and the “s” are pronounced the same).

Now yes, let’s go straight into what each one means and their various forms of use.

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Haz with Z – What Does It Mean?

Haz can have two main uses: as a verb and as a noun.

As a form of the verb hacer

• It is the imperative (command) of the second person singular “tú.”

• It is used to give instructions, advice, or tell someone to do something.

Examples:

• Haz tu tarea antes de irte. → Do your homework before leaving.

• Haz lo que te dije. → Do what I told you.

As a noun

As a noun, it is used in several situations:

• It means “set” or “group” of things tied together.

• It can also refer to the “face/side” of an object.

Examples:

• Un haz de luz iluminó la habitación. → A beam of light lit up the room.

• Sujetaba un haz de trigo. → He was holding a bundle of wheat.

Has with S – What Does It Mean?

Has, to our surprise, is not a command and it is not a noun.

As an auxiliary verb

• It is a form of the verb haber that is used as an auxiliary in compound tenses.

• It forms the present perfect tense of all verbs.

• It is always followed by a participle (-ado, -ido, irregular ones like visto or hecho).

Examples:

• ¿Has terminado? → Have you finished?

• No has visto nada. → You haven’t seen anything.

It can also be part of the verbal phrase haber de + infinitive, which is used to indicate a necessity or obligation, just as the [Real Academia Española](https://www.rae.es/espanol-al-dia/has-haz-0#:~:text=Comoverbo%2C%20se%20trata%20de,lo%20que%20tengas%20que%20hacer.) explains.

Example:

• Has de ser bondadoso con él. → You must be kind to him.

• Has de escribirlo mañana. → You must write it tomorrow.

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Haz or Has… Why Do They Get Confused?

As we mentioned before, in many places in Latin America the phonetic similarity is one of the most common causes of confusion between these words. Another cause is the verbal similarity: both come from very common and frequently used verbs (hacer and haber). But probably the most common cause is simply because we don’t know where these verb forms come from or which verb they belong to; something that you already know because you read this article, right? 😉

To make it clearer than water, here you have sentences and common phrases so you know how to tell them apart:

Sentences with Has

• Has terminado tu tarea más rápido de lo que esperaba. → You have finished your homework faster than I expected.

• Ya me has dicho eso antes. → You have already told me that before.

• Has cambiado mucho desde que te vi. → You have changed a lot since I saw you.

• ¿Has visto la película nueva? → Have you seen the new movie?

• Nunca has viajado en avión, ¿verdad? → You’ve never traveled by plane, right?

• Has estudiado bastante para el examen. → You have studied a lot for the exam.

• ¿Por qué no has venido a la reunión? → Why haven’t you come to the meeting?

• Has hecho un gran esfuerzo y se nota. → You have made a great effort and it shows.

• Todavía no has entregado el proyecto. → You still haven’t turned in the project.

• Me parece que has mejorado con la práctica. → I think you have improved with practice.

Sentences with Haz

• Por favor, haz lo que te pidieron. → Please, do what they asked you.

• Haz tu cama antes de salir. → Make your bed before leaving.

• Un haz de luz se coló por la ventana. → A beam of light came in through the window.

• No te preocupes, solo haz lo que puedas. → Don’t worry, just do what you can.

• Está listo el haz de leña para la fogata. → The bundle of firewood is ready for the bonfire.

• Haz de cuenta que no escuchaste nada. → Pretend you didn’t hear anything.

• Dibujé el haz de la moneda pero no me salió. → I drew the face of the coin but it didn’t turn out.

• Haz ejercicio a medio día. → Do exercise at noon.

• Haz el dibujo de tu familia. → Make the drawing of your family.

• ¡Haz silencio, por favor! → Be quiet, please!

Haz or Has, Comparative Examples

• ¿Has hecho o haz hecho? → The correct form is has hecho because it is the second person singular of the present perfect indicative of the verb hacer.

• ¿Has visto o haz visto? → The correct form is has visto because it is the second person singular of the present perfect indicative of the verb ver.

• ¿Has sido o haz sido? → The correct form is has sido because it is the second person singular of the present perfect indicative of the verb ser.

• ¿Has estado o haz estado? → The correct form is has estado because it is the second person singular of the present perfect indicative of the verb estar.

• ¿Has dicho o haz dicho? → The correct form is has dicho because it is the second person singular of the present perfect indicative of the verb decir.

To Finish

We recommend that you start learning how to differentiate these words and that way in the future you’ll avoid making mistakes in your tasks, projects, and even on your social media. Has and haz are different forms and have completely different functions. It doesn’t matter if they sound the same; they do not mean the same.

Likewise, something that would work (and save you time) is to use a Grammar Checker that shows you in your text the errors you wrote with these words.

If you want to look like a pro when you hand in all your tasks, you must master this now! 🚀