Spanish for Beginners: Saying 'There Is' and 'There Are' with Hay
Learn to state that something exists or is present in Spanish using hay, with singular and plural examples, questions, and common negative forms.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
In Spanish, to say that something exists or is present, you usually do not start with a subject like 'a park' or 'two cafes.' Instead, you use a special existence word: hay. This one form covers both 'there is' and 'there are.' In this lesson, you will learn to make simple existence statements such as 'Hay un parque cerca de mi casa' and to ask and answer questions about what is present in a place.
By the end, you can…
- say that one thing exists or is present using hay.
- say that more than one thing exists using hay with plural words.
- ask and answer simple questions about what is in a place.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Hay un parque cerca de mi casa.
There is a park near my house.
eye oon PAR-kay SEHR-kah deh mee KAH-sah
Use hay with un for one masculine thing. Cerca de means 'near.'
Hay una tienda en la esquina.
There is a store on the corner.
eye OO-nah TYEN-dah en lah es-KEE-nah
Use hay with una for one feminine thing. En la esquina means 'on the corner.'
Hay dos baños en el restaurante.
There are two bathrooms in the restaurant.
eye dohs BAH-nyohs en el res-tow-RAHN-tay
Hay stays the same with plural nouns. Dos baños is plural.
No hay leche en el refrigerador.
There is no milk in the refrigerator.
noh eye LEH-chay en el reh-free-heh-rah-DOHR
Put no before hay to make a negative existence statement.
¿Hay wifi en el hotel?
Is there Wi-Fi in the hotel?
eye WEE-fee en el oh-TEL
A question can be just hay plus a noun phrase. Intonation rises at the end.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is hay + noun phrase. Hay does not change for singular or plural: Hay un banco. (There is a bank.) Hay tres bancos. (There are three banks.) Use un or una with one thing, and numbers or plural words with more than one. To make a negative statement, say no hay: No hay agua. (There is no water.) To ask a question, use ¿Hay...? and let your voice rise: ¿Hay un mercado? (Is there a market?)
When to use it
Use hay to announce that something exists or is present in a place, especially when you are not talking about a specific known item. Compare Tengo un perro. (I have a dog.) with Hay un perro en el jardín. (There is a dog in the garden.) The first says who owns it; the second says it exists or is present there. In Latin American Spanish, hay is the normal everyday form. In Spain, you may also hear hay in the same way; the main regional difference is pronunciation, not the word itself.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
¿Hay un banco cerca de aquí?
Is there a bank near here?eye oon BAHN-koh SEHR-kah deh ah-KEESí, hay un banco en la calle principal.
Yes, there is a bank on the main street.see eye oon BAHN-koh en lah KAH-yay preen-see-PAHL¿Y hay cajeros automáticos?
And are there ATMs?ee eye kah-HEH-rohs ow-toh-MAH-tee-kohsSí, hay dos cajeros dentro del banco.
Yes, there are two ATMs inside the bank.see eye dohs kah-HEH-rohs DEN-troh del BAHN-kohA little context goes a long way
Hay is neutral and widely used in Latin American Spanish. In casual speech, speakers often drop the subject pronoun in questions and answers, so ¿Hay...? and Sí, hay... are complete and natural. In Spain, the same structure is standard, but you may hear the pronunciation of c and z differently.
One thing to watch for
Saying son un parque or está un parque to mean 'there is a park.'
Try this instead: Use hay for existence: Hay un parque. Son and está are for other meanings, such as identity or location of a known subject.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'There is a hotel near the airport' in Spanish?
Show a sample answer
Hay un hotel cerca del aeropuerto.
Hay introduces existence, un goes with the singular masculine hotel, and cerca del aeropuerto means 'near the airport.' Cerca de + el contracts to cerca del.
2How do you say 'There are no chairs in the room' in Spanish?
Show a sample answer
No hay sillas en la habitación.
No hay makes the existence statement negative, and sillas is plural. You could also say No hay ninguna silla, but the simple form is more common.
3Turn 'Hay una farmacia' into a question.
Show a sample answer
¿Hay una farmacia?
Spanish questions can use the same word order as statements, with question marks and rising intonation. The meaning becomes 'Is there a pharmacy?'
Use hay for both 'there is' and 'there are.' Keep hay unchanged, add un or una for one thing, and use no hay for 'there is not' or 'there are not.'
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