Pluralization of the existential verb "haber" (there is/are) in the "Corpus del español del siglo XXI"

Abstract

T Although academic authorities consider that the existential verb haber (there is/are) is transitive and impersonal, there is evidence of its number concordant use in several areas of the Hispanic world, as shown in several studies of a quantitative and/or regional nature. We document here some personalized uses found in the Corpus del español del siglo XXI and we analyse the possible impact of some variables of a linguistic (type of syntagm, tense and verbal mode), stylistic (type of text), or geolectal (country, dialectal area) nature. Our conclusion is that pluralization of the existential verb haber is a minority phenomenon but one that is widespread among all dialectal areas, even in texts written by cultured Spanish-speakers in formal situations.