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SPANISH VERB

hay

there is, there are

  • #17 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: habiendo
  • Past participle: habido

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. there is

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. there was

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. there used to be

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. there will be

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. there would be

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. (that) there be

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. (if) there were

How to use hay

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    ¿Hay un baño por aquí cerca?

    Is there a bathroom near here?

  2. Past

    Anoche hubo una fiesta en el edificio.

    Last night there was a party in the building.

  3. Imperfect

    Había mucha gente en el mercado.

    There were a lot of people at the market.

  4. Future

    Mañana habrá tacos de canasta en la oficina.

    Tomorrow there will be basket tacos at the office.

  5. Conditional

    Sin lluvia, no habría tantos mosquitos.

    Without rain, there wouldn't be so many mosquitoes.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ojalá que haya lugar en el restaurante.

    I hope there is room at the restaurant.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si hubiera más tiempo, iríamos a Oaxaca.

    If there were more time, we would go to Oaxaca.

Good to know

  • Hay is the same for one thing or many: hay un banco, hay dos bancos.
  • Hay que with a verb is "one has to": hay que pagar primero.

Where you hear hay

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Hoy hay tacos de pollo. Today there are chicken tacos.
  • Ayer había mucha gente. Yesterday there were a lot of people.
  • Mañana va a haber tacos de frijoles. Tomorrow there are going to be bean tacos.
7
I'm Hungry

Beginner Level 1 · hay

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -er verb.