Catalan haver-hi introduces the existence, occurrence, or availability of something: Hi ha una farmàcia al costat and Hi ha tres farmàcies al barri. In the standard existential construction, the verb remains third-person singular even when the following noun phrase is plural. English alternates “there is” and “there are”; formal Catalan does not copy that agreement contrast.
The small word hi is part of the construction, not an optional translation of “there.” It comes before finite forms (hi havia) but attaches to the infinitive and gerund (haver-hi, havent-hi). Across tenses, the choice of form places existence within a discourse timeline and marks whether it is asserted, predicted, hypothetical, or dependent.
Core forms and their viewpoints
| Time or mood | Standard form | Main value |
|---|---|---|
| infinitive | haver-hi | to exist / there to be |
| gerund | havent-hi | there being / since there is |
| present indicative | hi ha | there is / there are |
| imperfect indicative | hi havia | there was/were as background or ongoing state |
| periphrastic past | hi va haver | there was/were as a bounded occurrence |
| present perfect | hi ha hagut | there has/have been, currently relevant |
| pluperfect | hi havia hagut | there had been before another past point |
| future | hi haurà | there will be; sometimes a present estimate |
| conditional | hi hauria | there would be; sometimes a past estimate |
| present subjunctive | hi hagi | that there be/is under nonassertion |
| imperfect subjunctive | hi hagués | that there were in a past or remote frame |
| perfect subjunctive | hi hagi hagut | that there has/have been |
The simple past hi hagué is grammatical but now mainly (formal/literary), historical, or regionally favored; ordinary Central Catalan normally uses hi va haver. (Regional: Valencian) the simple past remains more available in cultivated writing and some speech, while the periphrastic past is also standard.
Present existence: hi ha
Hi ha introduces an entity or situation that the listener is not yet treating as an established discourse subject. Number does not change the verb.
Hi ha una bústia groga davant de l'ajuntament.
There is a yellow mailbox in front of the town hall.
Al calaix de baix hi ha tres carregadors que encara funcionen.
There are three chargers that still work in the bottom drawer.
No hi ha prou cadires per a tothom, així que en portarem del passadís.
There aren't enough chairs for everyone, so we'll bring some from the corridor.
Negation precedes the cluster: no hi ha. The location may appear before or after the verb, and a fronted location is commonly resumed by hi: A la plaça hi ha un mercat. That is not redundant in Catalan.
Past viewpoint: hi havia versus hi va haver
The imperfect hi havia describes a background state, a recurring arrangement, or something in progress at a past reference time. The periphrastic past hi va haver packages the existence as a bounded event or occurrence.
Quan vam arribar a la masia, hi havia espelmes enceses a totes les finestres.
When we arrived at the farmhouse, there were candles burning in every window.
A l'assemblea d'ahir hi va haver dues votacions i una pausa molt llarga.
At yesterday's meeting there were two votes and a very long break.
Abans del canvi de direcció hi havia hagut diversos intents de mediació.
Before the change in management, there had been several mediation attempts.
The difference is aspectual, not a matter of singular versus plural. Hi havia una discussió places a discussion in the scene; hi va haver una discussió reports that a discussion occurred. English “there was” covers both and therefore cannot make the Catalan choice for you.
Do not insert a into the periphrastic past. Hi va haver is past va + infinitive, whereas va anar a veure contains lexical movement and the preposition a.
Perfect, future, conditional, and mood
The perfect hi ha hagut connects a previous occurrence to the present discourse frame. The sequence may look repetitive, but each element has a job: fossilized locative hi, auxiliary ha, participle hagut.
Aquest trimestre hi ha hagut menys incidències que l'any passat.
There have been fewer incidents this quarter than last year.
The future hi haurà predicts but can also estimate a present quantity, much as other Catalan futures express probability.
Dissabte hi haurà servei especial d'autobusos fins a mitjanit.
On Saturday there will be a special bus service until midnight.
Quanta gent queda dins? No ho sé; hi haurà una vintena de persones.
How many people are still inside? I don't know; there must be about twenty people.
The conditional forms a hypothetical consequence or a tentative estimate: Amb una sala més gran hi hauria lloc per a cinquanta persones. Subjunctive appears when the existential proposition is desired, doubted, evaluated, or otherwise not independently asserted.
És possible que hi hagi canvis d'última hora en el programa.
There may be last-minute changes to the program.
Si hi hagués una sortida d'emergència més a prop, em quedaria més tranquil.
If there were an emergency exit closer by, I would feel more at ease.
The trigger alone is not enough: Sé que hi ha canvis asserts the existence and takes indicative. No crec que hi hagi canvis presents it as unconfirmed and takes subjunctive.
Singular agreement in the standard—and real variation
In formal standard Catalan, existential haver-hi is impersonal and stays singular:
- hi havia moltes opcions, not formal-standard hi havien moltes opcions;
- hi va haver protestes, not hi van haver protestes;
- hi ha hagut retards, not hi han hagut retards;
- hi haurà canvis, not hi hauran canvis.
Plural agreement is nevertheless widespread in spontaneous speech, including among native speakers. It is especially associated with (informal; regional: Central and Valencian) usage, where forms such as hi han, hi havien, and hi haurien can sound entirely ordinary. Nonagreement has broader continuity in (regional: Balearic, Northwestern, and Northern) speech as well as in the formal norm. The agreeing forms remain inappropriate in edited formal prose and in a learner's neutral standard. This is a genuine place where descriptive frequency and the prescriptive formal model diverge; knowing both prevents you from “correcting” every speaker while keeping your own writing reliable.
Partitive en: n'hi ha
When a previously mentioned count or quantity is omitted, partitive en joins existential hi. The order and contraction are n'hi, never hi en.
—Queden entrades per al concert? —Sí, encara n'hi ha quatre a primera fila.
—Are there any tickets left for the concert? —Yes, there are still four in the front row.
De propostes, n'hi havia moltes, però cap no tenia pressupost.
There were many proposals, but none had funding.
The numeral or quantifier stays after the verb while en retrieves the omitted noun: n'hi ha una, n'hi ha prou, no n'hi ha gens. Even with a plural quantity, the existential verb remains singular in the standard.
Existential haver-hi versus locative ser-hi
Use haver-hi to introduce existence or availability. Use ser-hi to say that an already identifiable person or thing is present at a location; ser then agrees with its subject.
| Existential introduction | Presence of an identified subject |
|---|---|
| Hi ha una infermera a recepció. | La infermera hi és fins a les sis. |
| Hi ha dos tècnics a la sala. | Els tècnics ja hi són. |
English uses “there is/are” for both introduction and presence more freely, so it can conceal the Catalan contrast. See Presentational Constructions for the wider information-structure pattern.
Mini-dialogue: checking a venue
—Hi ha projector a la sala petita? —Sí, n'hi ha un de fix a la paret.
—Is there a projector in the small room? —Yes, there is one fixed to the wall.
—I demà hi haurà algú de suport tècnic? —M'han dit que hi haurà dues persones al matí.
—And will there be anyone from technical support tomorrow? —I was told there will be two people in the morning.
The exchange keeps hi ha and hi haurà singular, while n'hi ha un combines existential hi with partitive en.
Common Mistakes
1. Attaching hi to a finite present form.
❌ A consergeria ha-hi cinc paquets per recollir.
Incorrect — hi precedes a finite form; enclisis belongs to the infinitive haver-hi.
✅ Hi ha cinc paquets per recollir a consergeria.
There are five packages to collect at the front desk.
2. Attaching hi to a finite imperfect form.
❌ Al contracte havia-hi dues clàusules contradictòries.
Incorrect in the neutral standard — the weak pronoun precedes the finite verb.
✅ Al contracte hi havia dues clàusules contradictòries.
There were two contradictory clauses in the contract.
3. Making the existential participle agree.
❌ Aquest matí hi ha haguts retards a totes les línies.
Incorrect — the participle in the compound existential is invariant hagut.
✅ Aquest matí hi ha hagut retards a totes les línies.
There have been delays on all lines this morning.
4. Omitting the integral pronoun hi.
❌ A l'edifici havia una escala de cargol molt estreta.
Incorrect — existential haver requires hi.
✅ A l'edifici hi havia una escala de cargol molt estreta.
There was a very narrow spiral staircase in the building.
5. Choosing subjunctive simply because the sentence is negative.
❌ Sé que no hi hagi cap error al total.
Incorrect — sé que asserts the absence as known.
✅ Sé que no hi ha cap error al total.
I know there is no error in the total.
Key Takeaways
- Standard existential haver-hi is impersonal and singular: hi ha, hi havia, hi va haver, hi ha hagut, hi haurà.
- Plural agreement is common (informal/regional) speech but is not the neutral formal model.
- Hi havia sets a past scene; hi va haver reports a bounded occurrence.
- Mood follows assertion status: sé que hi ha but dubto que hi hagi.
- Partitive en combines as n'hi: n'hi ha tres, no n'hi havia cap.
- Use ser-hi for the presence of an already identified subject: La directora hi és.
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.
- Presentational ConstructionsB2 — Introduce new discourse referents with haver-hi, ser-hi, and presentational verbs such as arribar and aparèixer while controlling agreement and word order.
- Existential Sentences with Haver-hiA1 — Use invariant haver-hi to introduce people and things, and distinguish Catalan hi ha from English there is and there are.
- Ser, Estar, or Haver-hiA2 — Distinguish identity, neutral or durative location, and the introduction of an existing or available referent.
- En as a Partitive PronounB1 — Use partitive en to resume indefinite nouns, mass nouns, and counted sets while keeping quantities and agreement visible.