Introduction to Il y a
Il y a is a fixed expression in French that translates to “there is” or “there are” in English. It’s one of the most used phrases in French. Luckily, it’s not very hard to learn. Some think Il y a is an abbreviation or contraction for something, but it actually is not. Here is how Il y a is formed:
- Il: This is the impersonal pronoun “it” or “there.”
- y: This is an adverbial pronoun meaning “there” or “here.”
- a: This is the third-person singular form of the verb avoir which means “to have.”
Il y a is very straght forward in it’s use. You don’t have to conjugate for plural or singular sentences and also gender doesn’t change the expression. But, It does sometimes change with tense, like for example the imperfect or future tense. You do this by changing a to for example avait or aura. You can find the full conjugation of avoir (to have) here. First let’s look at the main ways to use il y a.
Main ways to use il y a
To Indicate the Existence of Something
- Singular:
- Il y a un livre sur la table.
- There is a book on the table.
- Plural:
- Il y a des enfants dans le parc.
- There are children in the park.
To Talk About the Past
When used with a time expression, il y a can mean “ago.”
- J’ai rencontré Marie il y a deux jours.
- I met Marie two days ago.
Negative Form
To say “there is not” or “there are not,” use il n’y a pas.
- Singular:
- Il n’y a pas de problème.
- There is no problem.
- Plural:
- Il n’y a pas de livres sur la table.
- There are no books on the table.
Asking Questions
To ask if there is/are something, invert the verb and the subject or use est-ce qu’il y a.
- Y a-t-il un problème?
- Is there a problem?
- Est-ce qu’il y a des questions?
- Are there any questions?
Conjugating il y a for tense
The phrase il y a is generally used in a fixed form. But although you always use the third person singular of the verb avoir, within the phrase it needs to be conjugated to match the tense you are using. Here are examples of how il y a is conjugated in different tenses:
| Present | Imperfect | Passé composé | Futur simple | Conditional | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Il/Elle | a | avait | a eu | aura | aurait |
Present Tense
- Il y a un chat dans le jardin.
- There is a cat in the garden.
- Il y a des enfants qui jouent dans le parc.
- There are children playing in the park.
Imperfect Tense (Imparfait)
- Il y avait beaucoup de neige l’hiver dernier.
- There was a lot of snow last winter.
- Quand j’étais petit, il y avait une forêt près de chez moi.
- When I was little, there was a forest near my house.
Past Tense (Passé Composé)
- Il y a eu un problème hier soir.
- There was a problem last night.
- Il y a eu un accident sur l’autoroute ce matin.
- There was an accident on the highway this morning.
Future Tense (Futur Simple)
- Il y aura une réunion demain.
- There will be a meeting tomorrow.
- Il y aura une fête ce week-end.
- There will be a party this weekend.
Conditional Tense (Conditionnel Présent)
- Il y aurait plus de place si nous réorganisions la salle.
- There would be more space if we reorganized the room.
- Il y aurait moins de pollution si plus de gens utilisaient les transports en commun.
- There would be less pollution if more people used public transportation.
Pronunciation of il y a
The pronunciation of il y a in French is relatively straightforward. Here is a guide on how to pronounce it correctly:
- Il: Pronounced like “eel” (short and clipped).
- y: Pronounced like the English pronoun “ee”.
- a: Pronounced like “ah”.
When combined, the pronunciation becomes more fluid and sounds like:
- [eel-ya]
So let’s put this in an example sentence:
- Phrase: Il y a un chat.
- Phonetic: [eel ya uhn sha]
- Meaning: There is a cat.
Listen to this Youtube-film for a real life example
More Examples of how to use il y a
- Il y a une fête ce soir.
- There is a party tonight.
- Ils sont arrivés il y a une semaine.
- They arrived a week ago.
- Il n’y a pas de réponse.
- There is no answer.
- Y a-t-il quelqu’un ici?
- Is there someone here?
- Il y a beaucoup de monde à la fête ce soir. Il y a des gens qui dansent, d’autres qui discutent autour de la piscine, et des enfants qui jouent à des jeux vidéo à l’intérieur.
- There are many people at the party tonight. There are people dancing, others chatting around the pool, and children playing video games inside.