A1 · Being and having
há — there is
« There is » and « there are » are the same word, and it never goes plural.
Há is the third person of haver and means « there is » and « there are » alike. It has no plural: há um banco and há três bancos, the same form both times.
English changes the verb to match — « there is a bank », « there are three banks » — and that reflex is the whole of the difficulty. Hão três bancos is a plural that does not exist.
Há also says how long ago something was: há três anos is « three years ago » and, with a present tense beside it, « for three years ».
In conversation you will hear tem in place of há — that is Brazilian and unusual in Portugal.
Die Form
| there is, there are | há |
| there was | havia |
| there was, on one occasion | houve |
| there will be | haverá |
| three years ago | há três anos |
| there is not | não há |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
há stays singular however many there are.
Há três pessoas à espera.There are three people waiting.
With a length of time it means « ago ».
Cheguei há duas horas.I arrived two hours ago.
With a present tense beside it, it means « for ».
Moro aqui há cinco anos.I have lived here for five years.
The negation goes in front of it.
Não há pão hoje.There is no bread today.
Woran man es erkennt
- há
- havia
- houve
- não há
Beispielsätze
Há um banco na esquina.There is a bank on the corner.
Não há lugares livres.There are no free seats.
Estive lá há um mês.I was there a month ago.
Havia muita gente na praça.There were a lot of people in the square.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
English is what makes this one hard: « there is » and « there are » are two forms, and after a lifetime of choosing between them the choice is no longer a decision. Há makes no such choice — it does not agree with whatever is there, it simply stays as it is. Há dez pessoas, never hão dez pessoas. The pull towards a plural is strong because Portuguese agrees almost everywhere else.
há does not count along.
Jetzt selbst
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