“Hay” is a unique Spanish verb. It is related to the verb “haber” or commonly referred to as the impersonal form of “haber”.
In today’s podcast, you will learn how to use the verb “hay” in the past, present and future. You will also learn how to use the impersonal phrase with the verb “hay” to express obligation.
Check out today’s podcast for all of the details. If you have any questions or thoughts you can leave a comment below.
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Examples from today’s podcast:
There is a lot of noise here – Hay mucho ruido aquí.
Is there a good place to eat around here? – ¿Hay un buen lugar para comer por aquí?
Is there a good place to drink something around here? – ¿Hay un buen lugar para tomar algo por aquí?
Is there a good place to speak around here? – ¿Hay un buen lugar para hablar por aquí?
There was a party in the apartment upstairs last night anoche. It was very noisy. – Hubo una fiesta en el piso de arriba anoche. Fue muy ruidosa.
Last week there was a day I’m never going to forget – La semana pasada hubo un día que nunca voy a olvidar.
When I was little there were very fun moments – Cuando era pequeño había momentos muy divertidos.
We laughed at a joke that there was between us – Nos reímos de una broma que había entre nosotros.
Next week there will be a church wedding – La semana que viene habrá una boda en la iglesia.
In the future there will be cars that can fly – En el futuro habrá coches que pueden volar.
One must not tell lies – No hay que decir mentiras.
If one wants to speak Spanish one has to practice every day – Si se quiere hablar español hay que practicar todos los días.
Other episodes mentioned in this podcast:
How else can you use the Spanish verb “hay” in a conversation?
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I found these sentences and the construction is a bit different/confusing
” Ha de haber ido al centro” (he probably went downtown). Common use de haber is probably?
” ¿No te alegras de haber venido?” (Aren’t you glad you came?) Literally ‘aren’t you glad of having come’?
“Haber hay voluntarios, pero no muchos?” (There are volunteers, but not many). Need for haber?
“Han de haber sido como las nueve.” (It must have been about nine)
I thought these interesting because how the noun looks like an adjective
Hay niebla It’s foggy. Hay neblina It’s misty. Hay Sol It’s sunny. Hay humedad It’s humid. Hay nubes It’s cloudy.
Hey Rosemary, these examples are a little strange. But, check out this article: http://spanish.about.com/od/usingparticularverbs/a/haber_de.htm on “haber de”.
What I would say, as these examples are confusing, is that there are lots of other simpler ways to express obligation using “deber”. Or probability using the future simple tense for example:
– ¿Dónde está Juan?
– No sé, irá al centro. (I don’t know, he is probably going downtown).
If you’re using google translate, It is not accurate, e.g “Feel my way through the water” To hungarian and back is “Feel the water” or “have fun in the water”
Hola Andrew,
I am new to Real Fast Spanish and I find your methodology quite refreshing. I am rapidly getting over a number of ruts that have held back my Spanish progress so thank you. I am wondering, however, if there is a clearer way to present this particular tip. I find “Hay” to be a very useful word used in many common situations. But this tip makes “Hay” sound like a root verb in it’s own right used in the present, past, and future.
Wouldn’t it be clearer to describe “Hay” solely as a present conjugation of “Haber” (there is, one has to)? Then the other examples you use for the past and the future are different conjugations of the actual root verb “Haber”?
To me this explanation fits better alongside the excellent framework presented in Tip 15 “A Hack for the Past” but perhaps I am missing some subtlety.
Hola Brian, thanks for the feedback. “Haber” is a complicated verb because there are two forms “the impersonal”, which I discuss in this podcast, and “the auxiliary form” which I discuss in the hack for the past. So there are technically two present tense conjugations of “haber” in the 3rd person “hay” and “ha”. It is sometimes better to think of them as separate verbs but if you can remember how they work as you have suggested then that’s okay too!!
Excellent, thanks!