Expressing Existence with Haber
The verb haber is irregular in the present tense when used to express existence. In the present tense, the word hay is followed by singular or plural objects to express “there is” or “there are.”
Hay muchos estudiantes de intercambio en la universidad pública.
There are many exchange students at the state university.
Hay un baile gitano este fin de semana.
There is a gypsy dance this weekend.
In other tenses, the third person singular ( él) form of the verb is used regardless of the number of what follows.
Anoche hubo una tormenta.
Last night there was a storm. (preterite)
Habrá otra competencia mañana.
There will be another competition tomorrow. (future)
Habrá cinco equipos en el torneo.
There will be five teams in the tournament. (future)
Habría más pero uno se canceló.
There would be more but one was cancelled. (conditional)
Había un partido de vólibol ayer.
There was a volleyball game yesterday. (imperfect)
Había muchos espectadores en el gimnasio.
There were many spectators in the gym. (imperfect)
Había muchos admiradores de este grupo aquí.
There were many of this group's fans here. (imperfect)
Había muchos niños en el parque.
There were many children in the park. (imperfect)
You may hear some Spanish speakers conjugate Haber in plural;
Habían muchos niños en el parque. - There were many children in the park.
This use is incorrect. Regardless of the number of objects present in the sentence, Haber is always conjugated in the third-person singular when functioning as a verb meaning "there is / there are".
Hay muchos libros en la biblioteca.
There are many books in the library.
Hay un libro encima de la mesa.
There is a book on the table.
Hay dos baños en mi casa.
There are two baths in my house.
Hay cuatro océanos en el mundo.
There are 4 oceans in the world.
Hay un libro y una pluma en la mesa.
There is one book and one pen on the table.
or:
There is a book and a pen on the table.
When used in questions, "hay" has two different meanings:
Is there?
Are there?
Examples:
¿Hay un hotel en el centro?
Is there a hotel downtown?
¿Hay algunos libros por aquí?
Are there any books around here?
¿Hay muchos estudiantes en la clase?
Are there lots of students in the class?
¿Hay cuatro sillas en el cuarto?
Are there 4 chairs in the room?
¿Hay una chica o dos?
Is there one girl or two?
The verb form "hay" can also be used to answer questions.
¿Hay un hotel en el centro?
Is there a hotel downtown?
Sí. Sí hay.
Yes. Yes there is.
¿Hay algunos libros por aquí?
Are there any books around here?
No. No hay.
No. No there aren't.
Category: General Spanish