haver-hi (existència)

There Is and There Are with Haver-hi

Level 2

Haver-hi states existence, with its finite form showing the time.

How It Works

Use hi ha before the thing you are introducing: hi ha pa, hi ha una botiga. Hi is part of the expression haver-hi; do not drop it just because you also name a place.

Change the finite form of haver-hi for time while retaining hi: hi havia for past background, hi va haver for a completed occurrence, hi haurà for the future. In a negative statement, no comes before hi.

An existence statement introduces what is present in a setting: a la plaça hi havia música. A location statement can instead start with the identified thing: la música era al pati. Do not omit hi because you have already named a location. For a quantity of a noun mentioned earlier, add partitive en: n'hi havia tres.

Examples (3)

  1. Hi havia una cua molt llarga.

    There was a very long queue.

  2. Ahir hi va haver una reunió.

    Yesterday there was a meeting.

  3. Demà hi haurà més gent.

    Tomorrow there will be more people.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

haver-hi (existència)Level 2There Is and There Are with Haver-hi

Learn This First

Recognize the existence construction before changing its tense.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

haver-hihaver