When you want to say that something exists or is available, Spanish commonly uses hay.
The idea
The present-tense form hay stays the same before singular and plural nouns: hay un parque, hay dos cafés. Put no before it for absence: no hay leche. In a question, use ¿Hay…?.
Examples
- Hay un parque cerca.There is a park nearby.
- Hay dos cafés en la plaza.There are two cafés in the square.
- No hay leche.There is no milk.
- ¿Hay una farmacia aquí?Is there a pharmacy here?
- Hay muchas personas en el museo.There are many people in the museum.
- En mi barrio hay una biblioteca.There is a library in my neighbourhood.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Spanish device voice is available. You can still read the text.
Watch out
For the location of a specific known thing, use a form of estar: la farmacia está aquí. Use hay to introduce what exists: hay una farmacia.
Try it yourself
___ un parque cerca. (hay / están)
Show answer or example answer
hay
Hay introduces the existence of a park.
Choose the negative: ___ hay leche. (No / Sí)
Show answer or example answer
No
No makes the statement about milk negative.
Hay ___ cafés en la plaza. (dos / está)
Show answer or example answer
dos
Dos gives the number of cafés after hay.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Spanish sentences where available. We keep your score.
___ un parque cerca. (hay / están)
Choose the negative: ___ hay leche. (No / Sí)
Hay ___ cafés en la plaza. (dos / está)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Say what is available near your home, then ask whether there is a pharmacy nearby.