Hay in Spanish

Use hay to say that something exists or is present. It means both there is and there are.

One form for singular and plural

Hay does not change.

• Hay un parque en mi barrio. — There is a park in my neighborhood.
• Hay dos cafeterías en la plaza. — There are two cafés in the square.
• Hay una mesa y cuatro sillas. — There is a table and four chairs.
• ¿Hay un supermercado cerca? — Is there a supermarket nearby?
• No hay bancos en esta calle. — There are no banks on this street.

Hay vs estar

Use hay when you introduce something or say that something exists.

• Hay un café en mi calle. — There is a café on my street.

Use estar when you are talking about the location of a specific thing.

• El café está al lado del banco. — The café is next to the bank.

A useful rule:

hay = something exists
estar = where a specific thing is

Common patterns

You will often see hay with:

• indefinite articles: Hay una tienda.
• numbers: Hay tres tiendas.
• place expressions: Hay una tienda cerca de aquí.

Quick rule

Use hay for both there is and there are. It never changes for singular or plural.