Hay una farmacia en el hospital.

Questions & Answers about Hay una farmacia en el hospital.

Why do we use hay here instead of está?
We use hay to say "there is" or "there are" because we are talking about the existence of an unspecific thing: una farmacia (a pharmacy). If we were talking about where a specific pharmacy is located, we would use está, like this: La farmacia está en el hospital.
Could I say Hay la farmacia en el hospital?
No, you cannot use hay with definite articles like el or la (the). Hay only goes with unspecific things, like una (a) or numbers. To say "The pharmacy is in the hospital," you must switch to está instead.
Is the h in hospital pronounced like it is in English?
No, the h is always completely silent in Spanish. You pronounce the word os-pee-TAL, and the spoken stress goes on the last syllable rather than the first.
Does en always mean "in"?
En is a very useful word that can mean "in", "on", or "at" depending on the context. In this sentence, en el hospital could be translated to English as either "in the hospital" or "at the hospital".

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