All the students have some problems when they start speaking and have to decide about “hay, es, está, tiene”. Let’s see one by one:
Ø HAY: there is, there are.
Notice that it is the same form in Spanish, for one or more than one item.
Hay una mesa en la cocina. There is a table in the kitchen.
Hay dos mesas en la cocina. There are two tables in the kitchen.
We use “hay” when we inform about the existence of something and we consider that this information is new for the hearer. So we use “hay” when we don’t know if something exists or not:
¿Hay una farmacia por aquí? Is there a pharmacy nearby?
Remember that when we use “hay”, we cannot put “el, la, los las” afterwards.
Hay una farmacia en la esquina. CORRECTO
Hay la farmacia en la esquina. INCORRECTO
Ø ESTÁ: it is located.
We will discuss this meaning of “está” here, but remember to see the class about “ser or estar”, as this verb has other meanings!
Whenever we want to say where is something or somebody, we use the verb “estar”. Remember this, and never say “es” in this case, this is a very common mistake! So, when we think that the hearer knows about the existence of something but we want to specify the location, we say:
La farmacia está en la esquina. The pharmacy is at the corner.
In this case, the plural is “están”:
Las tiendas están cerca de mi casa. The shops are close to my house.
Remember that when we use “estar”, we can put “el, la, los, las” afterwards:
Ahí está la farmacia. There is the pharmacy.
Aquí están las tiendas. Here are the shops.
Many students don’t understand why we say “hay una farmacia en la esquina” (there is a pharmacy at the corner). This is because we want to speak faster, so instead of saying “hay una farmacia que está en la esquina” (there is a pharmacy which is at the corner”), we shorten the phrase.
Ø TIENE: it has.
Again, remember to check the class about “tener”, this is a very powerful verb with multiple meanings (what we call “verbo polisémico”. We have a big lesson about this in advanced level).
La farmacia tiene una puerta blanca. The pharmacy has a white door.
Ø ES: it is.
Last but not least, we have this form from the verb “ser” for essencial features. For example, for physical descriptions:
La farmacia es muy grande. The pharmacy is very big.
Let’s see the four forms in a little text: “Madrid es una ciudad grande y antigua. Está en el centro de España. Tiene muchos museos muy interesantes donde hay pinturas y esculturas de diferentes períodos”.
Also remember that when we make you a question using these verbs, we expect the same verb in your answer. Look:
¿Cuál es la capital de España? Es Madrid.
¿Dónde está Madrid? Está en el centro de España.
¿Qué hay en Madrid? Hay muchos museos muy interesantes.
¿Qué tiene el Museo del Prado? El Museo del Prado tiene muchas pinturas famosas.
I also made a video to explain a little more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaSgVRbvh8I
