Describe existence without assuming feelings

By UK GCSE French · independent study · myAudience

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Describe existence without assuming feelings

Il y a introduces something that exists or is present. It can mean there is or there are: « Il y a un livre » and « Il y a deux livres ». In this expression, a stays the same when the number of objects changes. Il is part of the impersonal structure; it does not refer to a boy or man.

Add a location to make a description useful: « Il y a un livre sur la table ». Sur means on. Dans means in, as in « Il y a deux personnes dans le parc ». First identify what is present, then identify where the sentence places it.

Compare existence with identification. « Il y a un sac » introduces a bag; « Le sac est bleu » describes the already identified bag. There is and is do different jobs in these sentences. Do not replace every occurrence of English is with est.

A scene allows observable descriptions such as a book on a table or two people on a path. It does not establish that the people are related or enjoy the activity. Vocabulary: une personne is a person and un parc is a park. The original sentence « Il y a deux personnes dans le parc » stays within visible information.

Worked example: Describe two books on a table using il y a.

Keep the fixed expression il y a.

Use deux livres with plural s.

Add sur la table for location.

Answer: Il y a deux livres sur la table.

Check your understanding: Does « Il y a deux personnes » mean that il is one of the two people?

Answer: No. The expression states that two people are present.

Why: Il is impersonal here; the persons are introduced by the noun phrase after a.