28
votes
Accepted
"haber cuéntame" = "so, tell me". Why is it translated like this?
It is not "haber, cuéntame", but "a ver, cuéntame". The meaning of a ver is
expr. U. para pedir algo que se quiere reconocer o ver.
i.e., it is used to ask to be shown or told ...
wimi♦
- 10.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Why does "hay" have no pronoun?
No, it doesn't have anything to do with its etymology, although it's an interesting one. It's just that haber is an impersonal verb per se. Follow the previous link and look for the meanings marked as ...
- 76.4k
6
votes
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre "haber que" y "tener que"?
"Haber que" es una forma impersonal. Solo se conjuga en tercera persona del singular ("hay que", "había que", "habrá que"), y no tiene sujeto: no se puede decir ...
wimi♦
- 10.9k
6
votes
What is the subject in "Los edificios no serían muy altos, estarían bien orientados y habría paneles solares"? Shouldn't it be *habrían*?
It is an impersonal verb equivalent to the English there is/are. An English translation might be
The buildings would not be very tall, they would be well oriented and there would be solar panels on ...
- 4,842
5
votes
Accepted
¿Qué forma verbal es la correcta: habrá payasos o habrán payasos?
No, haber con el significado de existir en un lugar o tiempo es impersonal. En esa oración, muchos rumores no es el sujeto, sino el complemento directo. Si fuera el sujeto, no podríamos sustituirlo ...
5
votes
Accepted
busco problemas donde no *los* hay
The pronoun los is optional in this case. It's not really redundant because the impersonal form of haber normally takes a direct object. The form without the pronoun is elliptical: the pronoun is ...
- 38.9k
4
votes
Antiquated uses of haber
in early Spanish "haber" was used to mean "tener"
That's right, and the evolution can be followed from the English analog:
Yo he un caballo = I have a horse (old Spanish)
Yo ...
- 7,681
4
votes
Antiquated uses of haber
Using haber to express possession could certainly be used back in the day (where it had the imperative forms habe and habed), but it developed today into the virtually exclusively auxiliary (for ...
- 29.8k
4
votes
¿Qué forma verbal es la correcta: habrá payasos o habrán payasos?
A pesar de que es un error muy difundido utilizarlo en plural, "haber" como verbo principal siempre es impersonal y se conjuga en singular. El sustantivo o frase nominal que sigue al verbo es ...
- 25.7k
3
votes
Accepted
¿Es correcto decir "hay mucho viento afuera"?
Según parece, tanto "hay viento" como "hace viento" son correctas. Por mi parte, no encuentro nada raro en las construcciones con haber, que de hecho me resultan un poco más naturales que con hacer. ...
- 38.9k
3
votes
What is the subject in "Los edificios no serían muy altos, estarían bien orientados y habría paneles solares"? Shouldn't it be *habrían*?
To add to mdewey's answer, the sentence might be objectionable from a stylistic point of view, because there are three coordinate clauses, two with the same subject (los edificios) and an impersonal ...
- 25.7k
3
votes
busco problemas donde no *los* hay
It may sound redundant –being optional, as the sentence would be still be understood without it– but having the pronoun (los) in place helps get the point across more effectively.
There are other ...
- 4,518
2
votes
¿"Haber + participio" actúa exclusivamente como verbo?
Efectivamente, el participio en este caso es simplemente parte de la construcción perifrástica y no funciona como adjetivo. Una forma sencilla de advertir la diferencia es que el participio, en esta ...
- 38.9k
2
votes
The passive nature of haber in "me han robado"
The verb "haber" is merely a perfect tense auxiliary and its use is not in any way related to the sentence being active or passive. We could in fact use a simple tense:
a. Me robaron. (I was ...
- 25.7k
2
votes
Is haber used in plural conjugation only when it is being used as an auxiliary verb, such as in a perfect tense?
Haber has three main meanings:
As an auxiliary for compound tenses.
As a full verb meaning the same as tener (archaic), including the phrase haber de (which means either "have to" or "must" in the ...
- 38.9k
1
vote
¿Por qué se necesita usar «los/las» en la frase «si los hay»?
El verbo haber en este contexto es un verbo impersonal de existencia, y por ende carece de sujeto. Al carecer de sujeto, eso que hay se expresa mediante el complemento directo.
He aquí a continuación ...
- 900
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