Haver as Existential ('there is / there are') | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

If you want to say "there is a problem" or "there are many people" in European Portuguese, you reach for a specific, unusual verb: haver. Not ter, not estar, not ser — haver. And not in all its conjugated forms, but almost always in just one form: há. This one little two-letter word covers the entire job that English splits between "there is" and "there are." This page walks through the logic, the paradigm, and the common traps.

The bottom line

The verb haver has two lives. As an auxiliary for compound tenses, it has been pushed out by ter and only survives in literary prose (see Ter vs Haver as Auxiliary). But as an impersonal verb of existence — the Portuguese equivalent of English "there is / there are" and Spanish hay — haver is very much alive, used constantly, and essential from day one.

The key fact: haver as an existential verb is impersonal, meaning it stays in the third person singular regardless of what follows. English distinguishes there is one from there are many. Portuguese does not. It is always há.

Há um problema com a internet.

There's a problem with the internet.

Há muitas pessoas na praia hoje.

There are many people at the beach today.

Há leite no frigorífico?

Is there milk in the fridge?

Same form — há — for singular (um problema) and for plural (muitas pessoas). No agreement. The verb never changes.

Ter vs haver: the big semantic split

This is where EP diverges sharply from how English thinks about possession and existence.

Job	Portuguese verb	Logic
Someone has something (personal possession)	ter	Personal — specific possessor
There is something (existence, no possessor)	haver (há)	Impersonal — no owner, just existence

Tenho três gatos em casa.

I have three cats at home. (personal: they are mine)

Há três gatos no quintal.

There are three cats in the yard. (existential: they exist there, no claim of ownership)

This is one of the most important distinctions to internalize early. English blurs it: "there are cats" and "I have cats" both use "have / are." Portuguese separates them cleanly. Possession goes with ter; existence goes with haver.

The key fact: há is invariable

Unlike English "there is / there are," Portuguese há never changes for number. One thing, two things, a million things — the form is the same.

Correct	Wrong
Há um carro na rua.	(singular — same form)
Há muitos carros na rua.	*Hão muitos carros na rua.
Há dois motivos.	*Hão dois motivos.
Não há lugares vagos.	*Não hão lugares vagos.

The temptation to say hão for plural is strong, especially for learners coming from English, where "there is" and "there are" agree in number with what follows. Portuguese does not work that way: speakers always say há, even when what follows is obviously plural.

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The reason há stays singular is historical: haver here is impersonal, meaning it has no subject in the usual sense. What follows ("um carro", "muitos carros") is grammatically the object of haver, not its subject — so the verb has nothing to agree with. You can read há carros as "it haveth cars" or "there exists cars." The noun doesn't control the verb.

Há across tenses and moods

Although há is by far the most common form, haver as an existential does conjugate into other tenses — always and only in the third person singular, since it is impersonal everywhere.

Tense / Mood	Form	Meaning
Present indicative	há	there is / there are
Imperfect indicative	havia	there was / there were (ongoing past)
Preterite	houve	there was / there were (event in past)
Future	haverá	there will be
Conditional	haveria	there would be
Present subjunctive	haja	(that) there be
Imperfect subjunctive	houvesse	(if) there were
Future subjunctive	houver	(whenever / if) there is

All these forms are impersonal — always singular, no plural versions.

Present: há

Há pão fresco na padaria da esquina.

There's fresh bread at the bakery on the corner.

Há sempre demasiado trânsito àquela hora.

There's always too much traffic at that time.

Imperfect: havia

The imperfect expresses an ongoing state in the past — something that existed at a time in the past, as a backdrop.

Quando cheguei, havia muita gente à espera.

When I arrived, there were a lot of people waiting.

Antigamente, havia uma fonte nesta praça.

Once, there was a fountain in this square.

Preterite: houve

The preterite presents existence as a completed event — something happened, it occurred.

Houve um acidente na autoestrada ontem à noite.

There was an accident on the motorway last night.

Houve uma altura em que ele quis desistir.

There was a moment when he wanted to give up.

The havia / houve distinction mirrors the general imperfect vs preterite logic. Havia = there was, as a lasting state / backdrop. Houve = there was, as an event or bounded moment.

Havia silêncio na sala.

There was silence in the room. (a lasting atmosphere)

Houve um silêncio quando ela disse aquilo.

There was a silence when she said that. (a specific moment of silence)

Future: haverá

Haverá uma reunião na sexta-feira às três.

There will be a meeting on Friday at three.

Se as previsões estiverem certas, haverá neve na serra amanhã.

If the forecasts are right, there will be snow in the mountains tomorrow.

In speech, vai haver is often preferred — the periphrastic future with ir: vai haver uma reunião ("there's going to be a meeting"). Both are correct.

Conditional: haveria

Haveria algum problema em adiar a consulta?

Would there be any problem in postponing the appointment?

Se houvesse mais vagas, haveria mais candidatos.

If there were more openings, there would be more applicants.

Present subjunctive: haja

Used after subjunctive triggers — doubt, desire, emotion, impersonal expressions.

Espero que haja lugares no comboio das seis.

I hope there are seats on the six o'clock train.

Embora haja muitos problemas, a situação está a melhorar.

Although there are many problems, the situation is improving.

A common set expression: seja o que for, haja o que houver ("whatever happens, come what may"). The expression is so common that learners often meet it before they formally study the subjunctive.

Imperfect subjunctive: houvesse

Se houvesse mais tempo, podíamos discutir isto calmamente.

If there were more time, we could discuss this calmly.

Preferia que houvesse menos ruído.

I'd rather there was less noise.

Future subjunctive: houver

Used in conditional and temporal clauses referring to the future — "if there is," "when there is," "whenever there is."

Se houver problemas, liga-me.

If there are problems, call me.

Podes levar o que houver na despensa.

You can take whatever there is in the pantry.

The future subjunctive is unique to Portuguese (and a few other Romance varieties); Spanish does not have an active future subjunctive. For learners from Spanish, seeing houver in this context is one of the signature EP / BP features.

Negative existence: não há

The negative of há is simply não há ("there isn't / there aren't").

Não há nada para comer em casa — temos de ir às compras.

There's nothing to eat at home — we need to go shopping.

Não há ninguém na sala.

There's no one in the room.

Não há problema.

No problem. (literally: there isn't a problem.)

The expression não há problema is one of the most common phrases in everyday EP — the standard response to "sorry" or "thank you," equivalent to English "no problem" or "you're welcome."

Há vs tem — the EP / BP split

This is a major marker of European vs Brazilian Portuguese. In BP, especially in informal speech, ter has invaded the existential space and tem is very often used for "there is / there are": tem muita gente aqui ("there are lots of people here"). In EP, this usage sounds Brazilian and is actively avoided in print and in educated speech.

European Portuguese	Brazilian Portuguese (informal)
Há muita gente aqui.	Tem muita gente aqui.
Não há tempo.	Não tem tempo.
Há um banco ali.	Tem um banco ali.

If you are learning EP, always use há for existence. Tem in that role is a Brazilian feature — perfectly common in Rio or São Paulo, but marked (even flagged as "incorrect" by prescriptivists) in Portugal.

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A quick test for EP speakers: if you can translate the sentence with English "there is / there are" (not "has"), then EP wants há. If you can translate it with "has / have" (a specific possessor owning something), EP wants ter.

Há vs à — the spelling trap

Há (verb, "there is / ago") and à (preposition + article, "to the / at the") are pronounced identically. In writing, they are distinct:

há = verb haver — always the verb of existence, or "ago" with time expressions.
à = contraction of preposition a
- feminine article a = "to the" / "at the."

Há uma loja à esquina da minha rua.

There's a shop at the corner of my street.

In one sentence: há (there is) + à esquina (at the corner). Two different words that sound the same but mean completely different things.

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Quick test: can you replace the word with existe (exists) or faz (in time expressions)? If existe uma loja makes sense, the original word is há. If not, it's à.

Comparison with Spanish and English

Spanish: hay

Spanish uses hay for "there is / there are" — and, like Portuguese há, it is invariable. Hay un problema, hay muchos problemas. This is the one major existential construction where Portuguese and Spanish actually align closely. If you know Spanish, the Portuguese pattern is familiar: one impersonal form, no agreement, used for all numbers.

The one wrinkle: Spanish hay is limited to the present. For past existence, Spanish switches to había (imperfect) and hubo (preterite) — which map directly onto Portuguese havia and houve. Same verb (haber / haver), same impersonal logic, same tense system.

Hay mucha gente. / Há muita gente.

Spanish: There are lots of people. / Portuguese: There are lots of people.

Había un problema. / Havia um problema.

Spanish: There was a problem. / Portuguese: There was a problem.

English: there is / there are

English requires agreement: there is one problem, there are three problems. Portuguese does not — há is always há. This is the easiest difference to remember once you drill it.

French: il y a

French il y a is also invariable and also used for existence. The construction is unrelated etymologically (French uses avoir), but the behavior is similar: one form, no number agreement.

Common Mistakes

❌ Hão muitas pessoas na festa.

Incorrect — há is invariable, never plural.

✅ Há muitas pessoas na festa.

There are many people at the party.

❌ Tem muita gente aqui.

Brazilian Portuguese — in EP, use há.

✅ Há muita gente aqui.

There are lots of people here.

❌ À um problema com o carro.

Wrong word — à is the preposition contraction, not the verb. The verb is há.

✅ Há um problema com o carro.

There's a problem with the car.

❌ Eu tenho três cães na rua.

Wrong verb for existence — eu tenho means 'I own,' not 'there exist.'

✅ Há três cães na rua.

There are three dogs in the street.

❌ Haveram muitos problemas.

Invented form — há is invariable, and so are havia, haverá, etc. Never plural.

✅ Houve muitos problemas. / Havia muitos problemas.

There were many problems.

Key Takeaways

Haver as an existential means "there is / there are" and is impersonal — always third person singular, no plural agreement.
The present form há is the one you will use most; learn the other tenses (havia, houve, haverá, haja, houvesse, houver) as you advance.
Ter is for personal possession; haver is for impersonal existence. Do not use ter where English says "there is / there are" — that is Brazilian, not European.
The past split havia vs houve follows the general imperfect / preterite logic: ongoing state vs bounded event.
Watch the spelling trap: há (verb, "there is") vs à (preposition, "to the"). They sound identical but are different words.

For há in time expressions ("ago" and "for"), see Há for Time Expressions.