Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Há muita gente na sala de espera. - There are a lot of people in the waiting room.

The verb haver is impersonal when used to mean "there is" or "there are". This means it only ever takes the singular "it" form, regardless of how many things you are talking about. Additionally, the noun it points to here, gente, is grammatically singular anyway.

The word gente means "people". Why does it use muita instead of the plural muitas?

Even though gente refers to a group of people, it is a feminine singular noun in Portuguese. Because it is grammatically singular, any words describing it must also be feminine and singular, which is why we use muita.

Could I say Há muitas pessoas instead of Há muita gente?

Yes, you can! Pessoas is the plural word for "people" and works perfectly here. If you use it, you just need to make sure the adjective matches the plural noun, becoming muitas pessoas. Keep in mind that Há still stays singular either way.

Why is "waiting room" translated as sala de espera?

In English, we often use an -ing word to describe a room's purpose, like "waiting room". Portuguese usually builds these concepts by linking two nouns with de (of). Espera is the noun form of the verb esperar, so sala de espera literally translates to "room of wait".