Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

Asking and answering questions regarding existence 38.1¿Habría suficiente tiempo?Would there be enough time?Espero que haya tiempo.I hope there is time.No ha habido problemas.There haven’t been any problems.In informal and uneducated speech in general, there is a tendency among speakers topluralize forms such as hubo, había, etc., when referring to the existence of more thanone thing, e.g. Hubieron/habían muchas personas. This use seems quite prevalent inLatin America, but it is regarded as incorrect and should be avoided.38.1.2¿Haber or estar?Hay, había, habrá, etc. are used to talk about the existence of something indefinitesuch as un hotel, ‘a hotel’, mucha gente, ‘many people’. If we are referring to theexistence or presence of something definite, already determined by the context,for example el hotel, ‘the hotel’, mis amigos, ‘my friends’, we should use estar,‘to be’, instead of haber. Observe the contrast between the two verbs in thesesentences:¿Hay un buen hotel en la ciudad?Is there a good hotel in the city?Pues, está el Hotel Isla Negra, que es estupendo.Well, there is the Hotel Isla Negra, which is excellent.¿Había mucha gente en la fiesta?Were there many people at the party?Sí, estaban todos mis amigos.Yes, there were all of my friends. 22.2 (p. 105)38.1.3¿Ser or haber?Note also the use of ser in identification in:¿Cuántos somos?Somos seis.How many of us are there?There are six of us.Compare this use with that of the impersonal form of haber, in:¿Cuántos hay?Hay seis.How many are there?There are six.38.1.4ExistirExistence can also be expressed through existir, ‘to exist’, a verb which is used in moreformal contexts.Existe desde hace mucho tiempo.It has existed for a long time.227