Before getting into the differences between ‘hay’ and ‘estar’, let’s see a bit more about the verb ‘hay’ and its characteristics.
Impersonal form ‘hay’ is the present use of the verb ‘haber’, which can be translated to different verbs in English depending on its meaning within the sentence (to be, to have). Below are a couple of examples of verb HABER:
-As ‘to have’. The position in the sentence is as auxiliary verb:
He estado en el teatro esta noche
I have been to the theatre this evening
-As ‘to be’. It is the main verb of the sentence:
Hay una tienda a la vuelta de la esquina
There is a shop around the corner
So the verb ‘hay’ can be translated as there is/are. In Spanish this verb form has no plural:
– Hay un persona allí; Hay muchas personas allí.
The impersonal form can express obligation (hay que + inf) or existence.
In the case of the verb ‘estar’, this one will be used in third person to inform where an object is located.
In the table below you can see the definition for both verb forms and their differences.
| Characteristics | Hay | Está / están |
|---|---|---|
| form | -It has impersonal form -In present (presente del indicativo) has special form: hay (only this one is used) -In other conjugation, it exists as the 3rd person in singular: había, habría, hubo. It has no plural | -It can be conjugated in any time and person -It has singular and plural |
| use | -To define the existence of something -Can be used to introduce something / someone new in the conversation | -To locate in an specific place a person, an animal or thing, we already know they exist -It required of an adverbial complement |
The following demonstrative adverbs are used together with these verbs in order to describe the proximity where the object is located. From closer to further these are: Aquí, ahí, allí.
| Adverbs | Hay | Está | Están |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquí, ahí, allí | un museo una cafeteria dos abrigos mucha gente muchas personas muchos turistas | el museo la cafetería | mis zapatos los turistas |
Click this link to find out the differences between verbs ‘ser’ and ‘estar’.