There is
il y a, and il y a for "ago".
il y a means "there is" or "there are", and never changes for the plural.
- There's a cat in the garden.
- There are a lot of people here.
| Form | |
|---|---|
| there is, there are | il y a |
| there isn't any | il n'y a pas de |
| is there? | il y a … ?, est-ce qu'il y a … ?, y a-t-il … ? |
| there was (scene, habit) | il y avait |
| there was (one event) | il y a eu |
| there will be | il y aura, il va y avoir |
In speech il is often dropped: Y a pas de problème. Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? means "What's wrong?" or "What's going on?".
il y a for "ago", depuis for "for"
Before a length of time, il y a means "ago": il y a deux ans, "two years ago". For something that started in the past and is still going on, French uses depuis with the present: J'habite ici depuis deux ans, "I've lived here for two years".
voilà and voici
voilà points something out: "there's", "here's", "here you are". voici "here is" is formal and rarer. voilà also ends an explanation: "there you go", "that's it".
Cards from this guide
7 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Sentences cards.
How do you say "There are a lot of people"?
Il y a beaucoup de monde.
How do you say "There's no milk"?
Il n'y a pas de lait.
What does il y a mean before a length of time?
"Ago": il y a deux ans, two years ago.
How do you say "there was" and "there will be"?
il y avait and il y aura.
What does Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? mean?
"What's wrong?" or "What's going on?"
How do you say "I've lived here for two years" (and still do)?
J'habite ici depuis deux ans.
What does voilà mean?
"There's", "here's", "here you are", pointing something out.