Hi ha un cargol a terra, al costat de la galleda que hem posat sota l'aixeta.

a

Breakdown of Hi ha un cargol a terra, al costat de la galleda que hem posat sota l'aixeta.

• haver-hi: there be
• sota: under
• a: on

Questions & Answers about Hi ha un cargol a terra, al costat de la galleda que hem posat sota l'aixeta.

What does hi ha mean, and why isn’t it és or està?

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

• Hi ha un cargol = There is a snail / a screw
• literally, hi is a locative element and ha comes from haver

You do not use és here, because és means is in the sense of identifying or describing something:

• És un cargol = It is a snail / screw

And està is used for location or state of something already known:

• El cargol està a terra = The snail / screw is on the ground

So:

• Hi ha... = introducing that something exists or is present
• És... = identifying what something is
• Està... = saying where something is

Why is it un cargol and not just cargol?

Catalan usually uses an article with singular countable nouns in this kind of sentence, just like English does.

• un cargol = a snail / a screw

Leaving out the article would sound unnatural here. In existential sentences with hi ha, Catalan normally says:

• Hi ha un llibre sobre la taula
• Hi ha una cadira aquí