Breakdown of Hay que reponer las estanterías; están vacías.
estar
to be (location/state)
la estantería
the shelves
vacío
empty
hay que
one must, it is necessary to (+ infinitive)
Questions & Answers about Hay que reponer las estanterías; están vacías.
The English translation says "We must restock", but I don't see a word for "we" in the Spanish sentence. Why?
The phrase hay que followed by an infinitive (like reponer) is an impersonal way to express obligation, meaning "one must" or "it is necessary to." Because English doesn't use "one must" very often in daily speech, it usually translates to "we must" or "you have to" depending on the context. If you wanted to explicitly say "we must," you would use tenemos que reponer.
How does the verb reponer work? Is it related to poner?
Yes! Reponer is made by adding the prefix re- to the verb poner (to put). It literally means "to put back" or "to replace," which is why it translates so well to "restock" in this store setting. Because it's based on poner, it follows the exact same irregular conjugation patterns (for example, "I restock" is yo repongo).
Why is it están vacías instead of son vacías?
You use estar with adjectives like vacío (empty) or lleno (full) because they describe a temporary physical state or condition, rather than an inherent, permanent characteristic. The shelves happen to be empty right now, but that state will change once someone restocks them!
Is there a difference between una estantería and un estante?