Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Creo que la amistad es más fácil cuando hay respeto y confianza. - I think friendship is easier when there is respect and trust.

No creo que la amistad sea fácil.
I don’t think friendship is easy.
¿Crees que la amistad sea más fácil así? (more formal / careful, implies doubt)
Do you think friendship might be easier that way?

So here, because the speaker is asserting a belief (not denying or doubting it), “es” (indicative) is the normal choice.

Why does the sentence use “la amistad” but no article before “respeto” and “confianza”?

Spanish often uses the definite article with abstract nouns when talking about them in a general sense:

La amistad es importante.
Friendship is important.

So “la amistad” = “friendship in general.”

With uncountable / abstract concepts after verbs like haber (hay), Spanish often omits the article:

Hay respeto y confianza.
There is respect and trust.

Adding an article here would usually sound more specific:

Hay un respeto y una confianza especiales.
There is a special kind of respect and trust.

So:

“la amistad” = the concept of friendship in general.
“respeto y confianza” here are non‑specific amounts of these qualities, so no article is needed.

Could you say “amistad” without “la”, like “Creo que amistad es más fácil…”?

No, not in standard Spanish. You need the article:

✅ Creo que la amistad es más fácil…
❌ Creo que amistad es más fácil…

In Spanish, singular abstract nouns used as subjects are usually introduced with el/la:

La paciencia es necesaria.
Patience is necessary.

Leaving out the article here sounds ungrammatical or extremely odd in normal usage.

Why is it “hay respeto y confianza” and not “son respeto y confianza” or “están respeto y confianza”?

The verb “hay” (from haber) is the standard way to say “there is / there are”:

Hay respeto y confianza.
There is respect and trust.

You do not use ser or estar in this structure:

❌ Son respeto y confianza.
❌ Están respeto y confianza.

Those are incorrect here because ser and estar describe what something is or how/where it is, not the existence of something in general. To express existence in an indefinite way, Spanish almost always uses hay.

Could you say “cuando existe respeto y confianza” instead of “cuando hay respeto y confianza”? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can:

Creo que la amistad es más fácil cuando existe respeto y confianza.

The meaning is very similar. Nuance:

hay = neutral “there is/are”, very common, everyday usage.
existe = “exists”, a bit more formal or emphatic.

Using “existe” can sound slightly more emotional or philosophical, like stressing the presence or reality of those qualities, but grammatically both are fine.

Why is it “más fácil” without “que”? I thought comparisons needed “más… que”.

Spanish has two common patterns:

Direct comparison: más… que…
- La amistad es más fácil que el amor.
  Friendship is easier than love.
Comparative within a condition or situation: más + adjective + cuando / si / con…
- La amistad es más fácil cuando hay respeto y confianza.
  Friendship is easier when there is respect and trust.

In the original sentence, we’re not comparing friendship to something else; we’re comparing two conditions (with vs. without respect and trust) in a more implicit way. So no “que” is needed.

Why is there no comma before “cuando” in “es más fácil cuando hay respeto y confianza”?

Spanish punctuation rules differ slightly from English. In this case, the “cuando…” clause is essential to the meaning, so it’s usually written without a comma:

La amistad es más fácil cuando hay respeto y confianza.

A comma is more typical when the clause is extra or parenthetical:

La amistad, cuando hay respeto y confianza, es más fácil.

Both are correct, but:

No comma: neutral, straightforward.
Commas around “cuando hay respeto y confianza”: adds a slight pause/emphasis, like extra commentary.

When do you use indicative (“cuando hay”) vs subjunctive (“cuando haya”) after “cuando”?

Cuando + indicative → facts, habits, general truths (as in the sentence):

La amistad es más fácil cuando hay respeto y confianza.
Friendship is easier when there is respect and trust.
→ General statement, treated as a real situation.

Cuando + subjunctive → future or hypothetical events not yet realized:

La amistad será más fácil cuando haya respeto y confianza.
Friendship will be easier when there is (will be) respect and trust.

Here, because we’re making a timeless, general statement, we use the indicative: “cuando hay”.

Could I add “yo” and say “Yo creo que la amistad es más fácil…”? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can add yo:

Yo creo que la amistad es más fácil cuando hay respeto y confianza.

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él…) are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person. Adding yo usually:

adds emphasis → I (personally) think…
can contrast with someone else’s opinion:
Yo creo que…, pero él piensa que…

Meaning doesn’t fundamentally change; it just sounds more personal or contrastive.

Is “amistad” the only way to talk about friendship? What about using “amigos” instead?

“La amistad” refers to the abstract idea or state of friendship.

You could express a similar idea with “amigos”, but the focus shifts:

Creo que tener amigos es más fácil cuando hay respeto y confianza.
I think having friends is easier when there is respect and trust.

Differences:

la amistad es más fácil → emphasizes the quality or nature of friendship.
tener amigos es más fácil → emphasizes the process of making/keeping friends.

Both are correct; it just depends on what you want to highlight.

What exactly does “confianza” mean here? Is it always just “trust”?

Confianza often translates as “trust”, but its use in Spanish is quite broad. In this sentence, it means:

mutual trust
feeling comfortable / at ease with each other

Common expressions in Spain:

Tener confianza con alguien
To have a close, relaxed relationship with someone.
Esa persona me da confianza.
I feel I can trust that person / they inspire confidence.
Es de confianza.
He/she is trustworthy.

So here “respeto y confianza” suggests:

respecting each other
feeling you can rely on each other
being able to open up without fear

All of that is wrapped up in confianza.

Why does “más” have an accent? What would “mas” without an accent mean?

Más with an accent = “more”:

más fácil → easier / more easy
Quiero más café. → I want more coffee.

Mas without an accent is a formal/literary conjunction meaning “but”, similar to “pero”:

Quería ayudar, mas no sabía cómo.
I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how.

In everyday modern Spanish (especially in Spain), “mas” = “but” is rare; people almost always use “pero” instead. In your sentence it must be más with accent, because it clearly means “more / easier”.