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There is / There are

There is a book · There are two books — cómo decir "hay"

"Hay" en inglés

Para decir que algo existe o está en un lugar, el español usa una sola palabra: hay. El inglés usa there is o there are según el número.

Hay un libro en la mesa.
→
There is a book on the table.
Hay tres libros en la mesa.
→
There are three books on the table.
Diferencia clave con el español: "hay" no cambia nunca, pero en inglés sí: there is para uno (singular) y there are para varios (plural).

Singular y plural

is para uno · are para varios

There is (singular)
Hay un gato.
→
There is a cat.
Hay leche.
→
There is some milk.
There are (plural)
Hay dos gatos.
→
There are two cats.
Hay algunas sillas.
→
There are some chairs.

En lenguaje hablado, there is se contrae en there's:

There's a problem.
there is → there's
There are people here.
plural: sin contracción habitual

Negativas

isn't / aren't · no any

No hay café.
→
There isn't any coffee.
No hay sillas.
→
There aren't any chairs.
No hay ningún problema.
→
There is no problem.
Dos maneras: "There isn't any..." o "There is no...". Las dos son correctas, pero no se mezclan: nunca "there isn't no".

Preguntas

Is there...? Are there...?

Para preguntar, se invierte el orden: el verbo va delante de there.

¿Hay un banco por aquí?
→
Is there a bank near here?
¿Hay tiendas?
→
Are there any shops?
¿Cuántos hay?
→
How many are there?
Respuestas cortas (sí)
Yes, there is. · Yes, there are.
Respuestas cortas (no)
No, there isn't. · No, there aren't.

Errores frecuentes

Cuando el español interfiere

Have a book on the table.
→
There is a book on the table.
"Hay" nunca se traduce por have.
There is two cats.
→
There are two cats.
Plural → are, no is.
It is a problem. (=hay)
→
There is a problem.
It is = "es/está", no "hay".
There are a car and two bikes.
→
There is a car and two bikes.
Concuerda con el primer sustantivo (a car = singular).

Resumen

Singular
There is / There's
There is a book.
Plural
There are
There are two books.
Negativo
isn't / aren't any
There aren't any chairs.
Pregunta
Is/Are there...?
Is there a bank near here?
Respuesta corta
Yes, there is/are
No, there isn't / aren't
Recuerda
hay ≠ have / it is
siempre there is/are
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