Hay humedad detrás del armario.

there is/are

Breakdown of Hay humedad detrás del armario.

• detrás de: behind
• el armario: the wardrobe
• la humedad: the damp

Questions & Answers about Hay humedad detrás del armario.

Why is hay used here instead of está?

Because hay means there is / there are and is used to say that something exists or is present.

So Hay humedad detrás del armario means There is dampness behind the wardrobe.

You would use está if you were talking about the location of something specific and already identified. For example:

• La humedad está detrás del armario. = The dampness is behind the wardrobe.

In your sentence, the idea is more like there is some dampness present, so hay is the natural choice.

What exactly is hay?

Hay is the present tense impersonal form of the verb haber.

It is very common in Spanish and means:

• there is
• there are

Unlike English, Spanish uses the same form hay for both singular and plural:

• Hay humedad. = There is dampness.
• Hay manchas. = There are stains.

Why is there no article before humedad?