Questions & Answers about Hay una cama en el dormitorio.
Why do we use hay here instead of está?
We use hay to say that something exists, like "there is" or "there are" in English. It is used with unspecific things, like una cama (a bed). If we wanted to say where a specific, known bed is located, we would use está, for example: La cama está en el dormitorio (The bed is in the bedroom). Would hay change if there were two beds?
No, hay stays exactly the same! In Spanish, hay means both "there is" and "there are". Whether you are talking about one bed (hay una cama) or two beds (hay dos camas), the word does not change. Can en mean anything other than "in"?
Yes! En is a very flexible word that can mean "in", "on", or "at" depending on the context. In this sentence it clearly means "in" because the bed is inside the room, but you will also see it used for things like "on the table" (en la mesa). Does dormitorio have the same root as "dormitory" in English?
Yes, it does! Both come from the Latin word for sleep. In Spanish, the verb "to sleep" is dormir. So a dormitorio is literally a place for sleeping. Learn Hay una cama en el dormitorio and more in Spanish
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