In Spanish we use había to say there was or there were. Read and listen to these examples:
Había un perro en el parque.
There was a dog in the park.
Había dos perros en el parque.
There were two dogs in the park.
Había un niño en la clase.
There was a child in the classroom.
Había demasiados niños.
There were too many kids.
Había una buena oferta para ir a Tenerife.
There was a good offer to go to Tenerife.
Había descuentos para estudiantes.
There were discounts for students.
See also Using hubo = there was / there were (simple past)
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Había demasiados niños.
There were too many kids.
Había una buena oferta para ir a Tenerife.
There was a good offer to go to Tenerife.
Había descuentos para estudiantes.
There were discounts for students.
Había un perro en el parque.
There was a dog in the park.
Había un niño en la clase.
There was a child in the classroom.
Había dos perros en el parque.
There were two dogs in the park.
Q&A
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
2/12/17
We are creating more lessons about specific uses at the moment. As you know both "Había" and "Hubo" translate as "There was/were", however the first will be used to express continuity in the past while with the latter there is no sense of continuity.
You can have a look here to learn a bit more about the use of the imperfect: https://spanish.kwiziq.com/my-languages/spanish/view/5111
and here: https://spanish.kwiziq.com/my-languages/spanish/glossary/45
Gracias,
Inma
William
Kwiziq community member
7/12/17
I have always found lots of information on youtube. Suggest google "haber Spanish youtube", you are sure to find a video that suits your style of learning
Steve
Kwiziq community member
6 April 2018
3 replies
hubo/había with a set time
“Maria told us there was a meeting at 4”
hubo is incorrect here, but I thought with a set time it became ‘hubo’? What am I missing?
Silvia
Kwiziq language super star
6 April 2018
6/04/18
¡Hola Steve!
We are sorry about this mistake, it is true that we should use the indefinido instead of the imperfecto in this case with a set time. We have just changed that question to avoid more problems in the future. Thank you for your contribution! Silvia.
Steve
Kwiziq community member
6 April 2018
6/04/18
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
7 April 2018
7/04/18
Hi Steve, as Silvia said, that sentence was changed to avoid confusion, as this is a more general lesson about "había". However bear in mind that when you do more advance lessons you may find "habia" combined with time phrases that seem more appropriate with the preterite. Those are also correct; they will be of a more specific usage though. We will have more lessons about usage soon.
Saludos,
Inma