Hay, ser and estar are very important verbs in Spanish. They are also a bit peculiar, and you have to learn why.
We use HAY (the infinitive form is HABER), to refer to the existence or no-existence of people, animals, places, objects… We use it always in the third person singular, even when a plural word follows:
- There isn’t any milk in the fridge = No hay leche en la nevera.
- There aren’t any lions in this zoo = No hay leones en este zoo.
- Is there a pharmacy on this street? = ¿Hay una farmacia en esta calle?
Indefinite pronouns (un, una, unos, unas), as well as quantifiers (mucho/s, mucha/s// bastante/s// poco/s, poca/s, etc) can follow HAY, but not definite ones (el, la, los, las):
- There are some bananas on the table = Hay unos plátanos en la mesa.
In addition to HABER, SER and ESTAR are an interesting pair that you need to be careful with. They both translate TO BE into Spanish. So, inevitably, the question arises: when do we have to use SER, and when ESTAR?
So far you have been using SER in the context of exchanging personal information. For example, when you say your name, your nationality, your profession. All of those should be by now clear cases for you to opt for SER, in whichever of its six forms is needed.
What about ESTAR then? Good news: there are also distinctive contexts for you to decide for ESTAR as opposed to SER. One very useful one to know about is location. Whenever you need to say where something is, for example either in terms of a particular position on the map, in a room or in terms of distance in kilometres or time, you need ESTAR. Again, you will have to consider which one of the 6 possible forms it has is actually the one you’ll need.
ESTAR is necessary for a well-known phrase that you can simply learn by heart: ¿Cómo estás? (how are you?). Technically speaking though, this question belongs to another context where ESTAR is needed: physical and mental estates, such as mood. More of that another time.
Now, all that has been mentioned so far leaves you in a good position to TEST yourself! You will see that you have been given already the conjugated forms of some key verbs, included TENER (to have), which we cover elsewhere in this website. Time to make decisions based on the above bits of important information. Off you go!
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