Differences between "a ver" and "haber"

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A VER AND HABER
a) A VER
! When asking a question to someone, is used to ask to this person
if he/she lets us see or check something:
- Mira lo que acabo de encontrar en la calle. - ¿A ver?
(- Look what I just found in the street. - Let me see).
! Expectation or interest to know something. Is usually followed by
an indirect interrogative:
- A ver cuándo podemos quedar (Let’s see when we can meet).
! Used to catch the attention of someone before asking or telling
him/her to do something:
- A ver, trae mi bolso, por favor (Hey, bring my bag, please).
! Means “what else can I do?” when you are talking about
something that is inevitable:
- ¿Te mudas a Sevilla? – ¡A ver! Si no lo hago, me despiden.
(- Are you moving to Seville? – What else can I do? If I don’t do it,
they fire me).
! Means expectation, curiosity or interest. Is followed by the
conjunction “if”(si):
- ¡A ver si nadas más rápido que yo!
(Let’s see if you swim faster than me!)

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1
More examples with “a ver”:
Let’s see, what do we have here? = (Vamos) a ver, ¿qué tenemos aquí?
We will see where the money comes from = Vamos a ver de dónde
viene el dinero.
You will see that a national healthcare system is not an impossible goal
= Vas a ver que un sistema nacional de salud no es un objetivo
imposible.
Let’s see how we can fix it = A ver cómo podemos arreglarlo.
Let’s see if we can do it better = Vamos a ver si lo podemos hacer mejor.
b) HABER
“Haber” means in English “to have” and also “there is/are/was/were…”.
It depends on the context. “Haber” can be either a verb or a noun.
As a verb:
! We use it as auxiliar, followed by a participle:
- Haber venido más temprano (You should have come earlier).
! We use it as an infinitive of an impersonal verb:
- Parece haber una mujer en casa
(It seems like there is a woman at home).
As a noun (masculine gender):
! Means someone’s possessions:
- Su haber era escaso hace cinco años
(Her/His possessions were very limited five years ago).
More examples with “haber”:
Since there was no lifeguard, I didn’t go to the swimming pool = Al
no haber socorrista, no fui a la piscina.
Who is responsible for bringing this? = ¿Quién es el responsable
de haber traído esto?
Are you glad you’ve come? = ¿Te alegras de haber venido?