El verbo haber (“There Is”/“There Are”)

The verb haber translates to “there is/there are” in English. Haber is an invariable verb, which means that its conjugation in the present tense does not change regardless of the subject, it is simply conjugated to hay. We use hay to indicate or show that something is “present” or exists. When we want to indicate that something is not present or existing simply add a no in front of hay.

Let us think of the things that are present in the classroom setting:

¿Qué hay en el salón de clase? ¿Qué hay en la universidad?

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All vocabulary words were read by a speaker from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.

Here are some examples of the vocabulary in context:

• Hay un profesor en el salón de clases. 🧑🏻‍🏫

• There is a professor in the classroom.

• También hay un televisor 📺, un reloj 🕘 y quince sillas. 🪑

• There is also a television, a clock, and fifteen chairs.

• No hay ventanas 🪟 en el salón.

• There are no windows in the classroom.

• En el pasillo hay unas estudiantes y muchas ventanas. 🪟🪟🪟

• In the hallway, there are some students and many windows.

• No hay una pizarra en el pasillo.

• There is no whiteboard in the hallway.

• En la biblioteca hay una estudiante 🧑🏻‍🎓, muchos libros 📚y un escritorio.

• At the library, there is a student, many books and a desk.

Notice how in the examples above we are utilizing indefinite articles in front of the verb: haber is always followed by an indefinite article (un, una, unos, unas) or no article at all, but never a definite article (el, la, los, las). Haber introduces new or unspecified information rather than referring to something already known or specific, it is used to state that something exists in general.

En el salón de clase (In the classroom)

• la puerta 🚪

• door

• la ventana 🪟

• window

• el televisor 📺

• television

• el monitor 🖥️

• monitor

• la pantalla 🖥️

• screen

• el reloj 🕘

• clock

• la pizarra/el pizarrón

• whiteboard/blackboard

• el asiento/el pupitre

• seat

• la silla 🪑

• chair

• la butaca/el sillón 🛋️

• armchair/sofa

• la mesa

• table

• el escritorio

• desk

• el lápiz ✏️

• pencil

• el bolígrafo 🖊️

• pen

• el libro 📖

• book

• el cuaderno/la libreta 📓

• notebook

• la mochila 🎒

• backpack

• el pasillo

• hallway

• la tableta 📱

• tablet

• la computadora 💻

• computer

• el/la/le profesor/a/e 👩🏻‍🏫

• professor

• el/la/le estudiante 🧑‍🎓

• student