ELONIO

There is / there are (hay)

In Spanish, the word hay means both "there is" and "there are".

There is and there are

To say that something exists, use hay. It never changes form, so you use the exact same word for both singular and plural objects.

There is a big bed in the room.
Hay una cama grande en el cuarto.
There are some beautiful paintings in the room.
Hay unos cuadros bonitos en el cuarto.
In the living room there is a sofa and a television.
En la sala hay un sofá y un televisor.

Making it negative

To say "there isn't" or "there aren't", simply place no immediately before hay.

There isn't a television in the room.
No hay un televisor en el cuarto.
There is no rug here, but there is a lamp.
Aquí no hay una alfombra, pero hay una lámpara.

Unspecific vs. specific objects

Use hay to point out the existence of unspecific things (using words like "a", "an", or "some").

If you want to state the location of a specific object you already know about (using words like "the" or "my"), use the verb estar instead.

The sofa is in the living room, but here there is a chair.
El sofá está en la sala, pero aquí hay una silla.
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