Question 1

Why is it había and not habían, since there were multiple moths?

Accepted Answer

When haber is used impersonally to mean "there was" or "there were", it always stays in the singular form. Even though unas polillas is plural, the verb remains había. Saying habían unas polillas is a common mistake even among native speakers, but standard Spanish requires the singular.

Question 2

Since the sentence starts with anoche (last night), why use the imperfect había instead of the preterite hubo?

Accepted Answer

The imperfect había is used here because it describes an ongoing state or sets a scene in the past. Even with a specific timeframe like anoche, you are describing the background of what was there. You would use hubo for a completed event that happened, such as Anoche hubo un accidente (Last night there was an accident).

Question 3

The English translation says "on the lamp", but the Spanish uses en. Is this correct?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the preposition en is very versatile and frequently translates to "in", "on", or "at" depending on the context. You do not need to use sobre (on or over) unless you specifically want to emphasize that they were resting directly on top of the lamp.

Question 4

Could I use algunas instead of unas for "some"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, algunas polillas would also be correct. However, unas acts as a simple plural article meaning "some" or "a few", which sounds very natural here. Algunas can sometimes sound a bit more specific, like "certain moths", but they are largely interchangeable in this context.

Anoche había unas polillas en la lámpara.

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