My home

Describing your home in Spanish

At the A1 level, being able to talk about your house and where things are is essential for everyday conversation.

Hay — there is / there are

Spanish uses a single word hay for both "there is" and "there are". It never changes form:

• Hay una mesa en la cocina. (There is a table in the kitchen.)
• Hay tres sillas en el salón. (There are three chairs in the living room.)
• ¿Hay un baño aquí? (Is there a bathroom here?)

Important: Do not confuse hay with está/están. Use hay when mentioning something for the first time (existence). Use está/están when saying where a known thing is located.

Prepositions of place

To say where things are, use these prepositions:

• en — in / on: El libro está en la mesa. (The book is on the table.)
• sobre — on top of: La lámpara está sobre la mesa. (The lamp is on the table.)
• debajo de — under: El gato está debajo de la silla. (The cat is under the chair.)
• al lado de — next to: El baño está al lado del dormitorio. (The bathroom is next to the bedroom.)
• entre — between: La cocina está entre el salón y el baño. (The kitchen is between the living room and the bathroom.)

Rooms of the house

Every Spanish home has these key spaces:

• la cocina — where you cook
• el dormitorio — where you sleep
• el salón — where the family gathers
• el baño — the bathroom

Ejemplo: "En mi casa hay tres dormitorios. La cocina es grande y hay una mesa con cuatro sillas." — "In my house there are three bedrooms. The kitchen is big and there is a table with four chairs."