Il y a / There Is, There Are

Il y a is one of the most useful expressions in French. It means both “there is” and “there are” — the
same form works for singular and plural.

French	IPA	English
Il y a	[il ja]	There is / There are
Il n’y a pas (de)	[il nja pa (də)]	There isn’t / There aren’t
Est-ce qu’il y a…?	[ɛs kil ja]	Is there…? / Are there…?
Il y a + time	[il ja]	…ago

Basic Usage

Il y a never changes — it’s the same for one thing or many things:

• Il y a un chat dans le jardin. [il ja œ̃ ʃa dɑ̃ lə ʒaʁ.dɛ̃] — There is a cat in the garden.
• Il y a trois personnes. [il ja tʁwa pɛʁ.sɔn] — There are three people.
• Il y a beaucoup de touristes. [il ja bo.ku də tu.ʁist] — There are many tourists.

Negative: Il n’y a pas

Wrap il y a with ne…pas. Note: un/une/des changes to de in negatives.

• Il n’y a pas de café. [il nja pa də ka.fe] — There is no coffee.
• Il n’y a personne. [il nja pɛʁ.sɔn] — There is no one.
• Il n’y a rien. [il nja ʁjɛ̃] — There is nothing.

Asking Questions

French	IPA	English
Il y a un problème?	[il ja œ̃ pʁɔ.blɛm]	Is there a problem?
Est-ce qu’il y a du lait?	[ɛs kil ja dy lɛ]	Is there milk?
Qu’est-ce qu’il y a?	[kɛs kil ja]	What’s the matter?

Expressing Time: “…Ago”

Il y a + time expression means “ago”:

• Il y a cinq minutes. [il ja sɛ̃k mi.nyt] — Five minutes ago.
• Il y a deux jours. [il ja dø ʒuʁ] — Two days ago.
• Il y a longtemps. [il ja lɔ̃.tɑ̃] — A long time ago.

Spoken French: Y’a

In casual speech, il y a is shortened to y’a [ja]:

• Y’a quelqu’un? — Anyone there?
• Y’a pas de problème. — No problem.

Note: Always write il y a in formal writing.

Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong	✓ Correct	Why
Il y a sont trois chats	Il y a trois chats	Don’t add sont — il y a is complete
Il n’y a pas un café	Il n’y a pas de café	Use de in negatives
Il y a pas (written)	Il n’y a pas	Include n’ in writing

Practice Sentences

1. Il y a un supermarché près de chez moi.
   [il ja œ̃ sy.pɛʁ.maʁ.ʃe pʁɛ də ʃe mwa]
   There is a supermarket near my place.
2. Il n’y a pas de pain aujourd’hui.
   [il nja pa də pɛ̃ o.ʒuʁ.dɥi]
   There is no bread today.
3. Est-ce qu’il y a une pharmacie par ici?
   [ɛs kil ja yn faʁ.ma.si paʁ i.si]
   Is there a pharmacy around here?
4. Qu’est-ce qu’il y a? Tu as l’air triste.
   [kɛs kil ja ty a lɛʁ tʁist]
   What’s wrong? You look sad.
5. Il y a trois ans, j’habitais à Paris.
   [il ja tʁwa.zɑ̃ ʒa.bi.tɛ a pa.ʁi]
   Three years ago, I lived in Paris.

Exercise: Translate Using Il y a

Translate these sentences into French:

1. There is a book on the table. → _______
2. There are many people. → _______
3. There is no milk. → _______
4. Is there a problem? → _______
5. Two days ago. → _______

Answers

1. Il y a un livre sur la table. [il ja œ̃ livʁ syʁ la tabl]
2. Il y a beaucoup de gens. [il ja bo.ku də ʒɑ̃]
3. Il n’y a pas de lait. [il nja pa də lɛ]
4. Il y a un problème? or Est-ce qu’il y a un problème?
5. Il y a deux jours. [il ja dø ʒuʁ]