Tener, haber and hay

Tener means 'to have' and is one of the most used Spanish verbs. It is irregular (note the ie stem change in almost all forms except yo, nosotros and vosotros).

• possession: Tengo un coche. (I have a car.)
• age: in Spanish you 'have' years, you don't 'be' them: Tengo veinte años. (I am twenty years old. Literally: I have twenty years.)

To say you have to do something, use tener que + infinitive:

Tengo que estudiar. (I have to study.)
Tienes que llegar a tiempo. (You have to arrive on time.)

This is the most natural way to express 'must/have to' in everyday Spanish.

Hay (pronounced like 'eye') comes from the verb haber and means 'there is' or 'there are'. It has only one form, regardless of singular or plural:

Hay un libro en la mesa. (There is a book on the table.)
Hay tres libros en la mesa. (There are three books on the table.)

After hay, use an indefinite article (un/una/unos/unas), a number, or no article — never el/la/los/las.

Besides hay, haber also has conjugated forms that you use as an auxiliary verb to form compound tenses, such as the pretérito perfecto (present perfect): haber + past participle (-ado/-ido).

He comido. (I have eaten.)
Ha llegado. (He/she has arrived.)

You'll learn this in detail in a later lesson — for now just remember that in this use, haber does not mean 'hay'.