Essential Spanish Expression
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There are few expressions more useful than hay, the Spanish equivalent of both "there is" and "there are."
Por ejemplo…
| Hay un manzano en el jardín. | There’s an apple tree in the garden. | |
| ¿Hay un problema? | Is there a problem? |
Hay is the present tense impersonal form of the verb haber. It’s always hay (invariable) regardless of whether the noun that follows is singular or plural.
Por ejemplo…
| Hay muchas mariposas. | There are a lot of butterflies. | |
| No hay problemas. | There aren’t any problems. |
There was, there will be …
In other tenses and moods, the impersonal verb haber has both singular and plural impersonal conjugations, but most Spanish speakers consider use of the plurals as incorrect. I’ve provided both forms here for reference, with the plural conjugations asterisked as a reminder to use them with care – if at all.
Por ejemplo…
| pretérito | hubo uno hubo dos | there was one there were two | |
| * | hubieron dos | there were two | |
| imperfect | había uno había dos | there was one there were two | |
| * | habían dos | there were two | |
| present perfect | ha habido uno ha habido dos | there has been one there have been two | |
| * | han habido dos | there have been two | |
| conditional | habría uno habría dos | there would be one there would be two | |
| * | habrían dos | there would be two | |
| future | habrá uno habrá dos | there will be one there will be two | |
| * | habrán dos | there will be two | |
| subjunctive | que haya uno que haya dos | that there is one that there are two | |
| * | que hayan dos | that there are two |
Hay que
When followed by an infinitive, hay que means "it is necessary to" or "one has to."
Por ejemplo…
| Hay que estudiar cada día. | It’s necessary to study every day. | |
| Hay que trabajar para triunfar en la vida. | One has to work in order to succeed in life. |
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