What is the difference between using há, existe, tém or é in Portuguese:?
I was curious cause I use this big mega ultimate pack of flashcards for Anki and I see phrases like "Ondé é a estacão do Metro", "Existé trés cavalos", "Tém uma casa de cambio perto" and etc... I tried looking up the difference on a search engine and obtained no straightforward grammatical result. They demonstrate some sort of "there are" structure but I don't quite understand the different contexts in using them. So maybe a native speaker or someone rather knowledgeable about the language can enlighten me!
Muito obrigadão e bom divertido!
P.S. Eu preciso de máis aprender da gramática de português!
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há, = could be used as there is or there are, let's say you should use '' há'' in cases when you have to write a paper like formal Portuguese example;
há uma casa = there is a house
tém = the verb in English is to have but also could be used as there is or there are it depends of the context:
Ex:
Tem uma casa = there is a house (see I am using as a there is)
Ele tem dois cavalos = He has two horses (now I am using as the verb to have)
Tem uma casa (informal)
há uma casa (formal)
Basically you can use há or tem in both cases.
Existir = is also use as there is or there are or the verb to exist. (I know Portuguese is not easy lol)
it's more used to described things in pass
Existia uma casinha azul, There was a little blue house
If you use in the present = será que Deus existe? = Does God exist?
Muito obrigadão = Does not exist. you can use obrigadão only or muito obrigado
Bom divertido = Does not exist I think you meant boa diversão = have fun
"Há" (from "haver") is the normal translation of "there is", as "hay" in Spanish, "il y a" in French, or "it have" in the French-influenced English of Trinidad & Tobago. You use it just as you would "There is / are" in English, "Der is" in Dutch, "Es gibt" in German.
"Haver" (to have) in its other senses has been largely replaced by "Ter" (to hold), which has encouraged its substitution in this sense also, hence "Tem uma casa..."
"Ã" (from "ser", to be) is used very much as in English, so "Onde é? (where is?, except that it is usually replaced by "estar" when a position or quality is only a transient location or position, as in "Onde está o meu carro neste momento?" (Where is my car right now?).
"Exisitir" is "to exist". "O estado da Prússia existia até 1945 quando foi abolida." "Existem [plural!] três cavalos". The Dicionãrio Houaiss gives as examples of its use instead of "haver", "A harmonia que existe na famÃlia é admirável" and "à fantástico, não existe" (He is just fantastic, there is nobody like him).
Há, existe, and têm can be used interchangeably for "there is/are". Têm is more common in Brazil, and há is more common in Portugal. Existe is a good middle ground.