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It is 6:30 in the morning and a thin mist hangs over the cerros orientales - the eastern hills that cradle Bogota at 2,640 meters above sea level. A man in a wool ruana waits at a bus stop, breathing fog. He turns to you and says: "Hace un frio espantoso hoy, ¿no?" (It is terribly cold today, isn't it?) Before you can answer, a vendor appears: "¡Tinto! ¡Tinto caliente!" You buy a small black coffee for mil pesos and wrap your hands around the plastic cup. Welcome to Bogota - a city of 8 million people, eternal gray skies, world-class museums, and a way of speaking Spanish that revolves around usted.
In this lesson, you will learn to describe what exists in a city using hay + indefinite articles - and you will practice this structure by exploring Bogota's neighborhoods, culture, and cachaco identity.
A2-B1 Language Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Hay comes from the verb haber and means "there is" or "there are." It is ONE form for both singular and plural - it never changes. But what follows hay matters: you use indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas) or quantity words (muchos, varios, algunos) because hay introduces things the listener does not know about yet.
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| hay + un/una + noun | Hay un museo famoso en La Candelaria. | There is a famous museum in La Candelaria. |
| hay + unos/unas + noun | Hay unas calles empedradas muy bonitas. | There are some very pretty cobblestone streets. |
| hay + muchos/muchas + noun | En Bogota hay muchos restaurantes. | In Bogota there are many restaurants. |
| hay + number + noun | Hay ocho millones de habitantes. | There are eight million inhabitants. |
| NO hay + noun | No hay playa en Bogota. | There is no beach in Bogota. |
Critical Error to Avoid: Never say "Hay el museo" - hay + definite article (el, la, los, las) is WRONG. If the listener already knows which museum, use estar: "El museo esta en La Candelaria."
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
Let's explore Bogota neighborhood by neighborhood - and build hay sentences for each one.
La Candelaria (Historic Center):
Chapinero (Trendy District):
Usaquen (Northern Charm):
Recommending Bogota to a Friend
Your friend from Ecuador asks: "¿Que hay para hacer en Bogota?" You respond: "En Bogota hay de todo. En La Candelaria hay museos increibles - hay uno de oro y otro de arte de Botero. Tambien hay muchos restaurantes buenos. En Chapinero hay cafes de especialidad. Y los domingos hay un mercado de pulgas en Usaquen." Your friend says: "¿Y hay playa?" You laugh: "No, no hay playa. Bogota esta en las montanas a 2,640 metros. ¡Hace mucho frio!"
This is the distinction that separates A2 from B1 speakers. At A2, students confuse hay and esta constantly. At B1, you choose correctly every time.
| Situation | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Introducing something NEW | hay | En Bogota hay un museo de oro. |
| Locating something KNOWN | esta/estan | El Museo del Oro esta en La Candelaria. |
| Saying how many exist | hay | Hay ocho millones de personas. |
| Saying where a specific thing is | esta/estan | La Plaza de Bolivar esta en el centro. |
| Asking what exists | ¿hay...? | ¿Hay un buen restaurante cerca? |
| Asking where something is | ¿donde esta...? | ¿Donde esta el restaurante? |
The Two-Sentence Test: First mention = hay. Second mention = esta. Watch: "En Bogota hay un cerro famoso. El cerro se llama Monserrate y esta al oriente de la ciudad."
Your friend asks '¿Donde ___ el Museo del Oro?' Which verb fits?
A cachaco is a person from Bogota - and cachaco culture has its own vocabulary. Let's learn these words inside usable sentence patterns.
| Term | In a Sentence |
|---|---|
| cachaco/cachaca | Los cachacos son las personas de Bogota. Son formales y usan "usted." |
| rolo/rola | "Rolo" es otro termino para una persona de Bogota, pero mas informal. |
| tinto | En Bogota hay tintos en cada esquina. Un tinto es un cafe negro pequeño. |
| ruana | La ruana es una prenda de lana tipica de la region Andina. En Bogota hay muchas personas que usan ruana. |
| ajiaco | El ajiaco es la sopa mas famosa de Bogota. Hay tres tipos de papa en un buen ajiaco. |
| chicha | La chicha es una bebida tradicional de maiz. Hay chicherias en La Candelaria. |
There is a special structure with hay that is essential for recommendations: hay que + infinitive. It means "one must / you have to / it is necessary to" - but impersonally. Nobody specific is the subject.
| Structure | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hay que + infinitive | Hay que visitar La Candelaria. | One must visit La Candelaria. / You have to visit La Candelaria. |
| Hay que probar el ajiaco. | You have to try the ajiaco. | |
| Hay que llevar ropa abrigada. | You need to bring warm clothes. | |
| No hay que + infinitive | No hay que tener miedo de la ciudad. | You don't need to be afraid of the city. |
Compare with tener que: Hay que visitar = impersonal (everyone should). Usted tiene que visitar = personal (YOU specifically must).
The Museo del Oro, Monserrate, ajiaco, a tinto on the street
Hay que visitar... / Hay que subir a... / Hay que probar... / Hay que tomar...
Hay que visitar el Museo del Oro porque es impresionante. Hay que subir a Monserrate porque la vista esta increible. Hay que probar el ajiaco porque hay tres tipos de papa y es delicioso.
A Cachaco Gives You Advice
A bogotano colleague says: "Si usted va a conocer Bogota, hay que hacer varias cosas. Primero, hay que subir a Monserrate - la vista de la ciudad es espectacular. Despues, hay que visitar el Museo del Oro. Hay miles de piezas precolombinas alli. Y hay que probar un ajiaco en algun restaurante del centro. Es la sopa tipica de aca. Ah, y hay que llevar un saco porque aqui hace frio todo el año." Notice: every recommendation uses hay que + infinitive, and the explanations use ser, estar, or hay.
Writing a Travel Post About Bogota
Imagine you are writing a social media post for Spanish-speaking friends. Use hay, ser, estar, and hay que to describe Bogota. Model: "Estoy en Bogota y es increible. Hay museos, restaurantes y mucha cultura. La ciudad esta en las montanas a 2,640 metros - ¡hace frio! Hay que visitar La Candelaria. Hay calles coloniales hermosas y hay un museo de oro impresionante. El ajiaco es la sopa tipica y hay que probarlo."
Complete: 'En La Candelaria ___ iglesias coloniales muy antiguas.'
Daily Actions for This Week
Monday-Tuesday: Write 6 hay sentences about Bogota, each introducing something different: a museum, a food, a neighborhood, a tradition, a weather fact, and a type of person.
Wednesday-Thursday: Practice the hay vs esta distinction. Write 4 pairs: first introduce something with hay, then locate it with esta. Example: "Hay un cerro famoso. El cerro esta al oriente de la ciudad."
Friday: Write 5 hay que recommendations for someone visiting Bogota. Each should end with porque + an explanation using ser or estar.
Weekend: Record yourself giving a 1-minute spoken description of Bogota using all four structures. Listen back and check: did you use hay for introductions, esta for locations, ser for characteristics, and hay que for recommendations?