Herramientas de la lengua
A, ha or ah?
Why do you want to know this?
Misspelling these worlds is a common mistake that can confuse your readers
When to use a, ha or ah
When to use “a”
“A” is a preposition. In English it mostly translates to “at,” “to,” “by” depending on how we use it. Ex:
- Fui a Ecuador (to)
- Empecé a hablar (to)
- La fiesta es a las cuatro (at)
- Llegué a pie (by)
When to use “ha”
“Ha” comes from the verb “haber” and it is used as an auxiliary verb for “él,” “ella” y usted as in “él ha comido” (Think of how in English we use the verb “to have”). Ex:
- Él ha comido mucho hoy. (He has eaten)
- Usted ha dicho demasiado (You have said too much)
- Ella ha ganado un premio (She has won a prize)
When to use “ah”
“Ah” is an interjection (words that we use to express sudden emotions – like yikes, oh, huh, etc). “Ah” is mostly used to express admiration, surprise, or sadness. Ex:
- ¡Ah, es maravilloso!
- ¡Ah, qué pena que esto haya sucedido!
- ¡Ah! ¿Eres tú
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes algo para practicar. Debes lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
This unit “a, ha, ah” was created by Alegría Ribadeneira and is licensed CC BY-NC-SA
