On negation (there is no something)

Question

Dear all,

I've learnt in class about expressing existence (expresar existencia) of objects in a room. For example, it is said "En mi casa hay una mesa" which is "there is a table in the room". But, my lecturer said it should be "En mi casa no hay mesas" for negation "there is no table in the room".

The question is why should "mesa" be in plural form when you are saying "there is no something"? Would anyone please explain the principle behind this grammar rule? Thanks.

Answer 1

Dear guys, but how do you say "There is no Juan at this address" when you ask "Does Juan stay here". I think this sentence is similar to the one above.

Answer 2

I would have said "En mi casa no hay niguna mesa"

I'm not sure there is a rule that says you use a plural to indicate that something is not present. I think you can use either singular or plural.

This is just my opinion. Let the experts speak!!

Answer 3

"En mi casa no hay mesas" = There are no tables in my house.

This is logical. In English you would not say say "There is no table in my house" either.

You might say "There is not even one table in my house" though.