Hi ha plàtans a la cuina? Sí, n'hi ha dos sobre la taula.

Are there bananas in the kitchen? Yes, there are two on the table.

Breakdown of Hi ha plàtans a la cuina? Sí, n'hi ha dos sobre la taula.

• haver-hi: there be
• a: in
• la cuina: the kitchen
• sobre: on

Questions & Answers about Hi ha plàtans a la cuina? Sí, n'hi ha dos sobre la taula.

Why is hi ha used for both there is and there are?

Hi ha is the standard Catalan way to express existence: there is / there are. It comes from the verb haver-hi, and in the present tense it stays hi ha whether the noun is singular or plural.

So:

• Hi ha un plàtan. = There is a banana.
• Hi ha plàtans. = There are bananas.

In standard Catalan, you do not say hi han here.

Why is there no article before plàtans?

Because Catalan often uses a bare plural after hi ha, especially in questions and general statements.

So Hi ha plàtans a la cuina? means Are there any bananas in the kitchen?

This is similar to English using any or some, even though Catalan does not need a separate word here.

What exactly does n' mean in n'hi ha dos?