Hi ha molta gent, però aviat serà el meu torn.

to be

Breakdown of Hi ha molta gent, però aviat serà el meu torn.

• haver-hi: there be
• però: but
• meu: my

Questions & Answers about Hi ha molta gent, però aviat serà el meu torn.

Why does Catalan use hi ha for there is/there are?

Hi ha is the standard Catalan way to express existence, like there is / there are in English.

• Hi is an old locative element, roughly connected to there
• ha is from the verb haver

So:

• Hi ha molta gent = There are many people

Even though gent is grammatically singular, the idea is plural in meaning, so in English it often becomes there are a lot of people.

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Why is it molta gent and not moltes gents?

Because gent in Catalan is usually an uncountable collective noun meaning people.

So you normally say:

• molta gent = a lot of people
• poca gent = few people / not many people

Not usually:

• moltes gents

Also, gent is grammatically feminine singular, which is why the adjective is molta, not molt.

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If gent means many people, why is it treated as singular?