Hay / Il y a

TomA2Kwiziq community member

Hay / Il y a

I had wondered whether Spanish 'hay' and French 'il y a' were derived the same way - a combination of third person singular from the verb 'to have' ('ha' and 'a') and 'y'. 

Is that completely wrong?

Thanks

Tom

Asked 2 years ago
CA2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

If I remember from way back when I studied both languages, I think that's correct.  The "y" as a place indicator dropped out of Spanish.

AlanC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

You're right:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hay#Etymology

Hay / Il y a

I had wondered whether Spanish 'hay' and French 'il y a' were derived the same way - a combination of third person singular from the verb 'to have' ('ha' and 'a') and 'y'. 

Is that completely wrong?

Thanks

Tom

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