Il y a and location

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Introduce something with il y a

Il y a means both there is and there are. It stays the same before one thing or several: il y a une banque; il y a deux banques. Treat the phrase as a unit.

Use un, une, des, or a number when introducing an unspecified thing. A question can keep the same word order with rising intonation: il y a un café ici ?

Locate something known

Où est la banque ? asks where a known singular place is. Où sont les livres ? uses the plural form sont. Include the accent on où.

French uses il or elle for things according to grammatical gender. La pharmacie becomes elle; le café becomes il. This differs from English it and does not make the objects living beings.

Describe a position

Dans means in or inside, sur means on, sous means under, and devant means in front of. À côté de means next to; près de means near.

De combines with le as du and with les as des. De la stays separate, and de l’ keeps its apostrophe. Compare près du café and près de la banque.

Lesson vocabulary

Listen once, say it aloud, and try to recall the French before looking.

Practice questions

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Independent practice

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