Learn how to tell the difference between hay, estar and tener and practise using them with interactive exercises. Discover how to introduce and locate people and objects, and express possession in Spanish.
En mi barrio _____ un parque.
Correct! En mi barrio hay un parque.We use these three verbs to express different ideas: "hay" introduces something, "estar" locates it and "tener" expresses possession..
We use hay to indicate that a person, object, or place exists or is present.
Hay un parque en mi barrio.
Hay dos estudiantes en la clase.
We use estar to indicate where a person, an object, or a known place is located.
El parque está cerca de mi casa.
Los estudiantes están en clase.
We use tener to talk about what a person, an animal, a place, or a thing has.
Mi barrio tiene un parque grande.
La casa tiene tres habitaciones.
Before completing the sentence, think what information do you want to communicateexistence, location, or possession.
| We want… | We use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Introduce something | hay | Hay un banco en mi calle. |
| Locate something already known | estar | El banco está al lado de mi casa. |
| Talk about possession | tener | Mi barrio tiene dos bancos. |
All three sentences are about a park, but each verb communicates a different idea.
Hay un parque en mi barrio.
We introduce the park and let people know that it exists.
El parque está cerca de mi casa.
We're already familiar with the park, and now we're going to find it.
Mi barrio tiene un parque.
We present the park as a feature or possession From the neighborhood.
Do I want to say that something exists? I use "hay".
Do I want to say where something is? I use "estar".
Do I want to talk about what someone or something has? I use "tener".
Still have questions? Take a visual look at the differences between hay, estar y tener and learn when to use each one to express existence, location, and possession. It includes examples and a quick guide to help you choose the correct form.
Download the PDF ↓ Free PDF · No registration requiredNow it is your turn. Complete the following exercises and choose between hay, estar y tener according to the information each sentence wants to communicate.
Understanding the difference is a good start, but to use these verbs naturally, you need to practise them in real conversations and situations.
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Complete the sentence:
“La casa _____ tres habitaciones”.
These are some of the most common mistakes when introducing and locating people or things, and expressing possession in Spanish.
We use hay to introduce an element for the first time and communicate that it exists.
When we talk about a known element and want to indicate its location, we use estar.
We use tener to discuss the features or elements that a home has.
The verb estar must agree with the subject. With a plural subject we use están.
Find answers to the most common questions about introducing and locating people and objects, and expressing possession in Spanish.
We use hay to indicate that a person, object, or place exists or is present. It normally serves to introduce something for the first time.
Hay una cafetería cerca de mi casa.
We use hay to introduce an element or indicate that it exists. We use estar to locate a known or identified item.
Hay un banco en mi calle.
El banco está al lado del supermercado.
We use tener to describe what a person, an animal, an object, or a place has. It can also express a characteristic.
Mi casa tiene tres habitaciones.
No. In the present tense, we always use the form hay, with both singular and plural nouns.
Hay una mesa.
Hay cuatro sillas.
With "hay", we introduce the bank for the first time, so it is usually accompanied by an indefinite article: "un banco".
With "estar", the bank has already been identified and we want to say where it is, so we normally use the definite article: "el banco".
Hay un banco en mi calle. El banco está enfrente de la farmacia.
