French

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Il Y A by Bruce Sallee and David Hebert

In English, we often use phrases like “there is” or “there are” to refer to the general existence of things. In French, this is done with the idiomatic phrase il y a. The French word y is an object pronoun. In this construction, it is the rough equivalent of the English “there.” Even when il y a is used with a plural object, the subject and verb don't change. It doesn't change for feminine objects, either; il is still used in the construction, even when referring to something feminine.

<tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Il y a un bon film au cinéma</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>There is a good film at the theater.</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Il y a une grande vedette en ville</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>There is a big star in town.</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <div class="npmo"> <img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/french/track.jpg"> <div class="npcp"><p><B>TRACK 23</B></p></div> </div> <p>You can also use the construction <emphasis>il y a</emphasis> as a question to ask if something exists. You could use the phrase <emphasis>est-ce que</emphasis> in front of it to form the question, or you can use inversion. When inversion is used, however, the pronoun retains its regular position in front of the verb, so you must insert a “t” in between.</p> <table frame="none" width="100%"> <title/> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Y a-t-il un bon film ce week-end?</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>Is there a good film this weekend?</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Y a-t-il un médecin dans la salle?</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>Is there a doctor in the room?</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/cest.htm" title="C'est">C'est</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/voil.htm" title="Voilà">Voilà</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/il-y-a.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Il Y A - French </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/pron_adverbial.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Y and En - French Adverbial Pronouns - Pronoms adverbiaux </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/mistakes/a/ilysera.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Il y sera - French Mistake </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/indirectobjects.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> French Indirect Objects - Complément d'objet indirect (COI) </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/ilya.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Il y a - French Expression </a></li> </ul></div> <div id="sec"><div class="n5">Read More Developing a Basic Vocabulary</div><ul><ul class="col1"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/conjunctions.htm">Conjunctions</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/basic-words-to-memorize.htm">Basic Words to Memorize</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/the-french-definite-and-indefinite-articles.htm">The French Definite and Indefinite Articles</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/gender-and-number.htm">Gender and Number</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/ilelle-est.htm">Il/Elle Est</a></li> </ul><ul class="col2"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/cest.htm">C'est</a></li> <li class="btO">Il Y A</li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/voil.htm">Voilà</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/activit-3.htm">Activité 3</a></li> </ul></ul></div> </div> <script>if(zSbL<1)zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0</script> </div> <div 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class="n3">French Sections</div><ul><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/pronouncing-and-writing-french/">Pronouncing and Writing French</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/using-everyday-expressions/">Using Everyday Expressions</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/developing-a-basic-vocabulary/">Developing a Basic Vocabulary</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/understanding-articles/">Understanding Articles</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/using-nouns/">Using Nouns</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/subject-pronouns-and-forming-present-tense-verbs/">Subject Pronouns and Forming Present Tense Verbs</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/asking-questions-and-giving-orders/">Asking Questions and Giving Orders</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/negating-words-and-phrases/">Negating Words and Phrases</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/objects-prepositions-and-pronouns/">Objects, Prepositions, and Pronouns</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/using-adjectives/">Using Adjectives</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/understanding-adverbs/">Understanding Adverbs</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/forming-past-tense-verbs/">Forming Past-Tense Verbs</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/using-reflexive-verbs/">Using Reflexive Verbs</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/forming-the-future-tense/">Forming the Future Tense</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/forming-the-conditional-tense/">Forming the Conditional Tense</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/understanding-the-subjunctive-mood/">Understanding the Subjunctive Mood</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/traveling-in-french-speaking-countries/">Traveling in French-Speaking Countries</a></li> 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