Hay: Saying There Is or There Are
Hay points out that something exists without changing for singular or plural. Use the same compact form to describe one café, two chairs, or many people.
Learning objective
Use hay to point out the existence of one or more things.
Hay means there is or there are and points out that something exists or is present. The same form works for one item and more than one: Hay una mesa means There is a table, while Hay dos mesas means There are two tables. Hay does not change for singular or plural.
Use an indefinite expression after hay when introducing something nonspecific: Hay un hotel aquí means There is a hotel here. You can also use a number or a bare plural noun: Hay tres sillas means There are three chairs, and Hay problemas means There are problems.
To locate a specific known item, estar is usually the better beginner frame. Hay un baño asks the listener to notice that a bathroom exists; El baño está allí means The bathroom is there and locates the identified bathroom. Allí means there, at some distance from the speaker.
The negative is no hay, meaning there is not, there are not, or there is no. Place no directly before hay: No hay café means There is no coffee. Because hay remains unchanged, the noun phrase after it supplies the clues about one item, several items, or an unmeasured substance.
Examples
Hay una mesa.
There is a table.
Una introduces one nonspecific table.
Hay dos mesas.
There are two tables.
Hay stays unchanged before a plural phrase.
Hay un hotel aquí.
There is a hotel here.
Aquí means here.
No hay café.
There is no coffee.
No directly before hay makes the statement negative.
Common mistake
- Instead of
- Hay dos mesa.
- Try
- Hay dos mesas.
Hay itself does not change, but the noun must still show plural number after dos. Mesa adds s because it ends in a vowel. The complete phrase dos mesas tells the listener how many, while hay simply announces that those tables exist or are present.
Practice
Try it yourself
Use hay to say that there is one chair, there are three books, and there is a hotel here. Then make the hotel sentence negative.