What is the difference between ‘hay’ and ‘estar’ in Spanish?

Spanish uses the verbs hay (a form of verb haber (meaning to have)) and estar (meaning to be) to express existence and location. In these contexts, these verbs can cause confusion because they are equivalent to the verb “to be” in English: There is a book, the book is on the table. However, in Spanish these two verbs are used very differently: Hay is used for unspecified objects (hay un libro) and estar for specified ones (el libro está sobre la mesa). Besides this distinction, in Spanish there are specific words (such as definite and indefinite articles, demonstrative and possessive adjectives, etc.) that will help you determine which verb to use. So, how can we distinguish between hay and estar? Find practical answers below!

“Hay” is a fixed form of the verb haber (meaning to have), used as the third person form singular and plural. It is used to talk about existence in the present tense and it means “there is/there are.” Furthermore, it is an impersonal verb, which means that there is no specific subject, and it is followed by a direct object. This direct object can be a singular or plural noun.

(Note: Whether the noun is singular or plural, the form hay stays the same.)

Now, think back to your first week in Spanish class. Your teacher probably asked:

• ¿Qué hay en la clase de español? (meaning What is there in the Spanish classroom?)

And the response was probably something along the lines of:

• En la clase hay 20 sillas, hay un escritorio, hay una televisión, y hay muchos estudiantes.

  Translation: In the classroom there are 20 chairs, there is one desk, there is one tv and there are many students.

Remember? So, let’s get into the details of hay.

• It can be used to express the mere existence of something or someone:

  Hay flores aquí. (meaning There are flowers here.)Hay muchas personas. (meaning There are many people.)

• It can also be used with abstract concepts:

  Hay felicidad por todos lados. (meaning There is happiness everywhere. )

• It can also express availability:

  ¿Hay lugar para alguien más? (meaning Is there room for someone else?)¿Hay boletos para la obra de teatro? (meaning Are there tickets for the play?)

• Besides talking about whether a concept, person, or object exists or is available, it can also be used to express location:

  ¿Hay galletas en la alacena? -Sí, compré una caja nueva ayer.

  Translation: Are there cookies in the pantry? - Yes, I bought a new box yesterday.
  ¿Dónde hay una farmacia? -Hay una en la esquina.

  Translation: Where is a pharmacy? There’s one in the corner.

  Wait…hold on!

Yes! Your Spanish teacher also taught you that estar is used for location, location, location!

And they were not wrong!

• --¿Dónde está la biblioteca? (meaning --Where is the library?)
• –La biblioteca está junto a los laboratorios. (meaning --The library is next to the labs.)

Ok, so now you are probably wondering what the difference is… can you figure it out?

Let’s begin with the meaning:

• If you already know about the person/concept/place/thing and you just want to know where it is, use estar.

  –¿Dónde está el teatro en esta ciudad? (meaning –Where is the theater in this city? )–El teatro está en la avenida principal. (meaning –The theater is on the main avenue.)

Here, you know there’s a theater but you just don’t know where.

• But, if you don’t know if such person/concept/place/thing exists, then use hay:

  –¿Hay un teatro en esta ciudad? (meaning –Is there a theater in this city? )–Sí, hay uno en la avenida principal. Está cerca del banco. (meaning –Yes, there’s one on the main avenue. It is close to the bank.)

Notice that we asked if the city had a theater using hay, and once we knew about the existence of the theater then we specified its location by using estar. Pretty cool, huh?

The same idea applies if we want to express availability. For example:

• ¿Hay alguien que me pueda ayudar? (meaning Is there someone who can help me?)

In this case we are asking if there is someone available to help, the person may or may not exist, so we use hay.

In some cases we can use estar for availability as well, but only if we talk about a specific person/object:

• -¿Está Sara? (meaning -Is Sara (available)?)
• -No está, salió a comer. (meaning -She isn’t, she went out to lunch.)

Besides the subtle meaning these two verbs can convey, there are some structural tips that will take your mastery of these verbs to the next level!

To learn about other expressions with “hay” like "hay que..." (meaning let's...) check out this post on Spanish modal verbs!

• “Hay” can be used to express the existence and location of unspecified objects or people.

  • The structural cues with hay are: indefinite articles and pronouns, numbers and quantifiers + noun, and nouns with no article.

• “Estar” is used to describe the location of objects, places, and people we already know exist.

  • The structural cues with estar are: definite articles, possessive and demonstrative adjectives + nouns, and proper nouns.

Now that you know the difference between these two, how about you apply your knowledge with these activities? ¡Buena suerte!