A1 · Ser, estar and hay
hay — there is, there are
One form for everything, and never an article after it.
At a glance
- Remember
- hay introduces, estar finds again — and hay stays hay.
- Form
- haypresent: there is, there are
- Signal words
- un
- una
- algún
- mucho
- nada
- alguien
- Trap
- Wrong:Hay el supermercado en esta calle.Right:Hay un supermercado en esta calle.
Your turn
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Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Spanish. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) tense marker ending for tense and person negation question marker
| present: there is, there are | hay |
| past (imperfect): there was, there were | había |
| past (preterite): there was, there were | hubo |
| future: there will be | habrá |
| question | ¿Hay …? |
| negative | No hay … |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
hay stays the same whether it is one thing or many.
Hay un banco y hay tres cajeros.There is a bank and there are three cash machines.
hay is never followed by el, la, los or las.
Hay una carta para ti.There is a letter for you.
What is new comes with hay, what is known with estar.
Hay un gato en el jardín. El gato está debajo del banco.There is a cat in the garden. The cat is under the bench.
no hay denies that something is there.
No hay leche en la nevera.There is no milk in the fridge.
Example sentences
¿Hay una parada de autobús por aquí?Is there a bus stop near here?
Hay mucha gente en la plaza.There are a lot of people in the square.
No hay nadie en la oficina.There is nobody in the office.
Había dos coches delante de la puerta.There were two cars in front of the door.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Two mistakes at once, both out of English. The first is making hay plural, because English does change: «there is» against «there are». Hayn does not exist, and han is a different form of haber. The second is the definite article after hay, because English allows «there is the station».
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
hay is «there is» and «there are», and it says that something exists. It is a single form for singular and plural: Hay un problema and Hay dos problemas — hay does not change.
The difference from estar is the difference between that something exists and where something is. hay brings something new in, estar says something about what is already known: Hay una farmacia en la esquinamentions it for the first timeLa farmacia está en la esquinatakes it for granted that you know about it
From that follows a rule you can almost always rely on: hay is not followed by the definite article. What you name with el or la is already known — and what is known does not need introducing.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: estar · haber