Three ways to say “is”
English says “there is a bank”, “the bank is on the corner” and “the party is at my house”. Spanish uses three different verbs for those three sentences, and the choice depends on what you are saying, not on the word “is”.
| You want to say | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Something exists (there is / there are) | hay | Hay un banco en esta calle. |
| Where a specific thing or person is | estar | El banco está en la esquina. |
| Where an event takes place | ser | La fiesta es en mi casa. |
| What or who something is, origin | ser | Esta es mi hermana. Carlos es de Colombia. |
Hay vs estar: look at the word before the noun
Hay introduces something new: un, una, unos, unas, a number, mucho, algún or no article at all. Hay un problema. Hay dos hoteles. Hay leche. Estar locates something already known: el, la, los, las, a possessive (mi, tu, su) or a name. El problema está aquí. Mis padres están en casa. Madrid está en el centro.
That makes hay el banco and un banco está en la esquina sound wrong or odd to native ears. In questions it works the same way: ¿Hay un baño por aquí? (does one exist?) versus ¿Dónde está el baño? (where is the one I know exists?).
Hay never changes
Hay is the same for one thing or many: hay un libro, hay diez libros. Saying hayn or using están for “there are” are common learner mistakes.
The event exception
Location normally takes estar, but events take ser: la fiesta es en mi casa, el concierto es en el estadio, la boda es en la playa. The trick is that you are not locating an object; you are saying where something happens. A building stays put; an event “takes place”.
Quick answers
What is the difference between hay and está?
Hay says that something exists: hay un banco en esta calle (there is a bank on this street). Está says where a specific, known thing is: el banco está en la esquina (the bank is on the corner). Hay goes with un, una, numbers or no article; está goes with el, la, mi, tu or a name.
Is it hay or están for plural?
Hay never changes: hay un libro, hay diez libros. Están is for locating specific people or things: los libros están en la mesa.
Why is it la fiesta es en mi casa and not está?
Events (parties, concerts, weddings, meetings, classes) take ser for where and when they happen: la fiesta es en mi casa, el concierto es a las nueve. Objects and people take estar: la casa está en el centro.
How do you ask “Is there a bathroom?” in Spanish?
¿Hay un baño por aquí? To ask where a known bathroom is, use estar: ¿Dónde está el baño?