Learn Spanish (Spain): No hay nada en el frigorífico.

No hay nada en el frigorífico.

There is nothing in the fridge.

Breakdown of No hay nada en el frigorífico.

no / not

in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)

hay

there is / there are

nada

nothing / anything (in negative contexts)

Questions & Answers about No hay nada en el frigorífico.

Why does it say no hay nada instead of just hay nada?

In Spanish, double negatives are perfectly normal and often required. If a negative word like nada (nothing) comes after the verb, you must put no before the verb. So, no hay nada translates word-for-word as 'there is not nothing', which is the grammatically correct way to say 'there is nothing'.

Could I use no está nada instead of no hay nada here?

No, you need hay here because you are talking about whether something exists or not ('there is nothing'). You use the verb estar (like está) when talking about the location of a specific thing you already know exists, for example: la leche está en el frigorífico (the milk is in the fridge).

I have also heard the word nevera for fridge. Are they the same thing?

Yes, they mean the exact same thing. In Spain, frigorífico is the official word you will see in stores or manuals, but people use nevera just as often in everyday conversation. You will hear both constantly.