There Is / There Are: هُناكَ and يوجَد

Frequently asked questions

When is There Is / There Are: هُناكَ and يوجَد used?

"There is" introduces something new, and the new thing has no article: هُناكَ مَطْبَخٌ , not هُناكَ المَطْبَخ. English follows the same instinct: "there is a kitchen" is normal, while "there is the kitchen" usually points at something. Arabic works the same way: هُنا المَطْبَخُ، وَهُناكَ غُرْفَةُ النَّوْمِ - here's the kitchen, and over there is the bedroom. With a definite noun, هُناكَ is simply "over there". To say where a known thing is, start with it: المَطْبَخُ هُناكَ - the kitchen is over there.

How is There Is / There Are: هُناكَ and يوجَد formed?

هَلْ هُناكَ صَيْدَلِيَّةٌ قَريبَةٌ؟ or هَلْ يوجَدُ صَرّافٌ آلِيٌّ هُنا؟ - Is there a pharmacy nearby? Is there a cash machine here? Put كانَ in front: كانَ هُناكَ مَقْهًى في هٰذا الشّارِعِ - there used to be a café in this street.

What are common mistakes with There Is / There Are: هُناكَ and يوجَد?

1. The article on the new thing: *هُناكَ المَطْبَخُ for "there is a kitchen". Say هُناكَ مَطْبَخٌ. 2. لا before هُناكَ: *لا هُناكَ حَديقَةٌ. Say لَيْسَ هُناكَ حَديقَةٌ, or لا توجَدُ حَديقَةٌ. 3. لَيْسَ before يوجَدُ: *لَيْسَ يوجَدُ. The verb takes لا: لا يوجَدُ. 4. Looking for a plural "there are": هُناكَ never changes. English speakers: "there" in "there is" is not a place, and neither is هُناكَ; the difference is that English keeps "there" in both uses. The article gives the meaning away in Arabic: with an indefinite noun هُناكَ is "there is", with a definite noun it is "over there".

Sources

1. W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. II (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1898

   § 42, Rem. c (pp. 103-104): the verb وُجِدَ, "to be found, be extant, exist", is often but wrongly counted among the sisters of كانَ. Its present يوجَدُ is the existential "there is" taught here.

2. W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. II (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1898

   § 42 (d) (p. 102): لَيْسَ carries "the idea of negation, by which that of existence itself is absolutely denied", which is why it negates the verbless هُناكَ sentence: لَيْسَ هُناكَ حَديقَةٌ.

3. W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. II (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1898

   § 116 (pp. 253-254): when the predicate is a preposition with its genitive "[or an adverb]" and the subject is an indefinite substantive, "the predicate must necessarily be put first" (Wright's example: عِنْدَكَ رَجُلٌ, "a man is with thee"). هُناكَ is such an adverb of place, so in هُناكَ مَطْبَخٌ it is the fronted predicate (خَبَر مُقَدَّم) and مَطْبَخٌ the subject placed behind (مُبْتَدَأ مُؤَخَّر); في البَيْتِ مَطْبَخٌ is parsed the same way (end of § 115, p. 253). § 116 adds that when the indefinite noun carries an adjective, either order is admissible.

4. A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Karin C. Ryding)