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Hay is an irregular form of the the verb haber. It means ‘there is’ or ‘there are,’ and it is used to point out the existence or presence of someone or something:
| Hay un restaurante bueno cerca de aquí. |
| There is a good restaurant close to here. |
| Hay muchos taxis en la calle. |
| There are many taxis in the street. |
| Hay cinco socios en la firma. |
| There are five partners in the firm. |
| Hay diez empleados en la oficina. |
| There are ten employees in the office. |
When referring to the past, the verb form becomes había (imperfect) (or sometimes hubo):
| Había (Hubo) un restaurante bueno cerca de aquí. |
| There was a good restaurant close to here. |
| Había (Hubo) muchos taxis en la calle. |
| There were many taxis in the street. |
| Había (Hubo) cinco socios en la firma. |
| There were five partners in the firm. |
| Había (Hubo) diez empleados en la oficina. |
| There were ten employees in the office. |
Note: Remember, hay, había and hubo point out the existence or presence of something. If you are pointing out the location of specific persons or things, use a form of estar:
| Roberto está en casa. |
| Roberto is at home. |
| Silvia y Elena están en el mercado. |
| Silvia and Elena are at the market. |
| La carta está en la mesa. |
| The letter is on the table. |
| Los libros están en el suelo. |
| The books are on the floor. |
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