7. Verbs ser, estar, hay
In Spanish, there are different ways to say that something exists or is located somewhere. It is important to know when to use ser, estar or hay, when in English the verb “to be” would be used.
Ser and estar have irregular present tense forms and conjugate as shown:
| ser (to be) | estar (to be) |
|---|---|
| soy | estoy |
| eres | estás |
| es | está |
| somos | estamos |
| sois | estáis |
| son | están |
The key difference between ser and estar is one of essence and condition. In other words, to say what something is, use ser, but to say how something is, use estar:
Sonia es artista.
Sonia is an artist.
Fran está enfermo.
Fran is ill.
To tell where something is from, use ser, but to tell where something is located now, use estar:
Heidi y Johan son de Alemania, pero ahora están en Suecia.
Heidi and Johan are from Germany, but they are now in Sweden.
Hay is the impersonal form of the Spanish verb haber (to be, to have). It means there is or there are. It can be followed by a singular or a plural noun without any change in its form. Its position in the sentence is rather flexible, too:
Sólo hay un cine en esta ciudad.
There is only one cinema in this town.
Hay muchos libros en la estantería.
There are a lot of books on the shelf.
¿Hay algún problema?
Is there a problem?
En esta aula no hay sillas.
There aren’t any chairs in this classroom.