Catalan uses the fixed verbal construction haver-hi to say that someone or something exists, is available, or is present in a place: Hi ha una farmàcia a prop “There is a pharmacy nearby.” The small word hi belongs to the construction; it is not an optional translation of English there.
In the shared standard, the verb is normally third-person singular even when the following noun phrase is plural: Hi ha una cadira and Hi ha quatre cadires. This makes the structure different from both an ordinary subject–verb clause and English there is/there are.
The basic structure
The neutral pattern is haver-hi + noun phrase, often followed by a location:
[Existential hi ha] [introduced entity una taula lliure] [location al fons].
Hi ha una taula lliure al fons, al costat de la finestra.
There's a free table at the back, next to the window.
Hi ha dos missatges nous al grup de la família.
There are two new messages in the family group chat.
Avui hi ha molta cua a la fleca.
There's a long queue at the bakery today.
The noun phrase after hi ha is not an ordinary preverbal subject. In the traditional standard analysis, it does not trigger number agreement, and it typically introduces a referent that the listener has not yet identified. That is why indefinite expressions—una taula, dos missatges, molta cua, algú—are especially natural.
| Meaning | Standard Catalan | Structural point |
|---|---|---|
| one item exists | Hi ha una solució. | hi ha remains singular. |
| several items exist | Hi ha tres solucions. | The following plural does not change ha. |
| past situation | Hi havia tres solucions. | The imperfect remains singular. |
| future situation | Hi haurà tres solucions. | The future remains singular. |
A place phrase can frame the clause
A location often comes first when it is already the topic: A la plaça hi ha un mercat. The opening phrase is not the grammatical subject; it sets the spatial frame within which something is introduced.
Davant de l'estació hi ha una parada de taxis.
In front of the station there's a taxi rank.
A la nevera hi ha arròs d'ahir i una mica de verdura.
In the fridge there's some rice from yesterday and a bit of veg.
Neutral Hi ha una parada de taxis davant de l'estació and reordered Davant de l'estació hi ha una parada de taxis have the same basic truth conditions. The second takes the station area as the current topic and then presents the taxi rank as new information. A short opening place phrase normally needs no comma; a long detached frame may take one for readability.
Do not omit hi just because another locative phrase appears. The two have different jobs: davant de l'estació names a place, while hi is an obligatory component of existential haver-hi.
Indefinite, definite, and presentational noun phrases
Canonical existential sentences favor indefinite or quantified noun phrases because their function is to introduce something new.
Encara hi ha algunes entrades per al concert de dissabte.
There are still some tickets for Saturday's concert.
A definite noun phrase can nevertheless occur when haver-hi presents a familiar person or a salient option: Hi ha la Marta al telèfon “Marta is on the phone,” or Per parlar amb direcció, hi ha la senyora Puig “Ms Puig is available to speak for management.” This use is presentational and context-dependent, not the neutral way to locate an already established object. For simple whereabouts, use a copular clause: Les claus són al calaix.
—Qui hi ha a recepció? —Hi ha el tècnic que ha vingut a mirar la calefacció.
—Who's at reception? —The technician who came to look at the heating is there.
The definite answer is natural because the question opens a presentational slot. Compare basic copular sentences for ser in ordinary location.
Negation, questions, and quantity
Put no before the entire construction: no hi ha. Catalan commonly combines it with cap for count nouns, gens de for uncountable quantities, and ningú for people.
No hi ha cap endoll lliure en aquesta sala.
There isn't a single free socket in this room.
No hi ha gens de llet; n'haurem de comprar.
There isn't any milk; we'll have to buy some.
A yes/no question uses the same order with interrogative intonation. A content question places the interrogative phrase first:
—Hi ha pa per esmorzar? —Sí, n'hi ha una barra al congelador.
—Is there bread for breakfast? —Yes, there's a loaf in the freezer.
When a quantity refers back to an already mentioned noun, en combines with existential hi: n'hi ha. English may simply say “there are three,” but Catalan overtly marks “of it” or “of them.”
Vols cadires plegables? N'hi ha quatre al traster.
Do you want folding chairs? There are four in the storage room.
The clitic sequence cannot be reduced to bare hi ha quatre when “four of them” is intended. See the clitic en for quantity and partitive uses.
Number agreement and regional usage
The conservative shared (formal) standard uses singular haver-hi: hi havia moltes persones, not plural hi havien. Plural agreement is, however, well established in everyday speech in Valencian and in parts of other dialect areas, and regional codification and editorial practice do not treat every context identically. A regionally grounded speaker may naturally say hi havien moltes persones (regional: Valencian and other areas).
For a pan-Catalan learner standard, keep the verb singular throughout. The important point is consistency: do not infer English-style agreement afresh from each following noun. Recognize regional plural forms without representing them as random mistakes in speech.
En acabar l'acte, hi havia més periodistes que convidats.
When the event ended, there were more journalists than guests.
The compound form is likewise hi ha hagut: Aquest matí hi ha hagut dos retards. Here haguts would not agree with retards in the shared standard existential construction.
Scope and attachment: what exactly exists where?
Negation can deny the whole existential claim, while a negative inside a relative clause describes the introduced entity:
No hi ha cap autobús que vagi al centre a aquesta hora.
There isn't any bus that goes to the centre at this time.
Hi ha un autobús que no va al centre, sinó a l'aeroport.
There is a bus that doesn't go to the centre but to the airport.
The first says no suitable bus exists; the second asserts that a bus exists and then denies a destination. Small changes in clause boundaries therefore change the scope of no.
Modifier attachment can also be ambiguous:
Hi ha una dona amb un paraigua al balcó.
There's a woman with an umbrella on the balcony.
Is the woman on the balcony, or is the umbrella there? Ordinary interpretation favors the woman, but the final phrase can attach at more than one level. Make the intended relation explicit: Al balcó hi ha una dona que porta un paraigua or Hi ha una dona que mira el paraigua que han deixat al balcó.
Short correction task
Correct these according to the shared formal standard: Ha una reunió a les cinc; Hi havien tres carpetes buides. The answers are Hi ha una reunió a les cinc, because hi is part of the construction, and Hi havia tres carpetes buides, because standard existential haver-hi remains singular.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ha una cafeteria nova al carrer Major.
Incorrect — existential haver-hi requires the clitic hi.
✅ Hi ha una cafeteria nova al carrer Major.
There's a new café on Carrer Major.
❌ Hi han moltes bicicletes davant de l'escola.
Not the shared formal standard — do not make present-tense haver-hi plural.
✅ Hi ha moltes bicicletes davant de l'escola.
There are lots of bicycles in front of the school.
❌ No ha hi ningú a l'oficina.
Incorrect order — no precedes the fixed sequence hi ha.
✅ No hi ha ningú a l'oficina.
There's nobody in the office.
❌ De galetes, hi ha tres.
Incomplete for the intended partitive meaning — an already mentioned noun counted as 'three of them' requires en.
✅ De galetes, n'hi ha tres.
As for biscuits, there are three.
Key Takeaways
- Use the complete construction haver-hi: present hi ha, past hi havia, future hi haurà.
- In the shared formal standard, keep the verb singular even before a plural noun phrase.
- Existentials typically introduce an indefinite or quantified referent after the verb.
- An initial place phrase is a discourse frame, not a subject, and it does not replace hi.
- Use n'hi ha when counting an already mentioned entity: N'hi ha dos “There are two of them.”
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Present of Haver and Haver-hiA1 — Use present-tense haver as a perfect auxiliary, distinguish it from invariant existential hi ha, and place weak pronouns correctly.
- Locative EnB1 — Use locative en for places of origin introduced by de, and distinguish this productive source use from lexicalized pronominal verbs.
- Basic Clause OrderA1 — Build neutral Catalan clauses and understand when omitted or postverbal subjects change the information structure.
- Presentational and Inversion ConstructionsB2 — Place discourse-new subjects after appearance, movement, and other unaccusative verbs, and distinguish presentational inversion from topicalization and the passive.
- Existential Haver-hi Across TensesB2 — Master the invariant existential forms hi ha, hi havia, hi va haver, hi haurà, and hi hagi, together with standard singular agreement and partitive n'hi.