Hi ha una porta a l'habitació.

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Breakdown of Hi ha una porta a l'habitació.

• haver-hi: there be
• a: in
• la porta: the door

Questions & Answers about Hi ha una porta a l'habitació.

What does hi ha mean, and why is it two words?

Hi ha is the usual Catalan way to say there is or there are.

It is made of:

• ha: the he/she/it has form of haver
• hi: a little word that is part of the fixed existential expression haver-hi

So learners often treat hi ha as one chunk meaning there is / there are.

Why is it hi ha and not just ha?

Because for existence, Catalan normally uses haver-hi, not plain haver.

So:

• Hi ha una porta = There is a door
• Ha una porta is not correct for this meaning

The hi is not optional here. In this structure, it belongs to the expression.

Why does Catalan use hi ha for both there is and there are?