Il y a / Il n'y a pas de: Description of Space

The Construction il y a

Il y a [il ya] — "there is, there are, exists". This is one of the most commonly used constructions in the French language.

Structure:

• Il y a + [article + noun] — statement
• Il n'y a pas de + [noun without article] — negation
• Est-ce qu'il y a...? / Y a-t-il...? — question

Usage of il y a

Description of Space

Office:

• Il y a une salle de réunion au deuxième étage. — There is a meeting room on the second floor.
• Il y a trente employés dans notre département. — There are 30 employees in our department.
• Il n'y a pas de parking disponible. — There is no available parking.

City/District:

• Il y a un restaurant français près du bureau. — There is a French restaurant near the office.
• Il y a beaucoup de banques dans le DIFC. — There are many banks in DIFC.
• Il n'y a pas de métro à Abu Dhabi. — There is no metro in Abu Dhabi.

Description of Situation

• Il y a un problème. — There is a problem.
• Il n'y a pas de problème. — There is no problem. / No problems.
• Il y a une réunion à 14h. — There is a meeting at 14:00.
• Y a-t-il des questions? — Are there any questions? (formal)
• Est-ce qu'il y a des questions? — Are there any questions?

Il y a = "ago" (time ago)

• Il y a deux ans, j'habitais à Paris. — Two years ago I lived in Paris.
• Il y a cinq minutes — five minutes ago

Description of City, Office, Housing

Description Model

Description model: On + verb (impersonal "we")

• On trouve... — One can find... (literally "find")
• On voit... — One sees...
• On a... — There is... (colloquial)

Description of Dubai

In the Dubai Marina, there are numerous residential towers and luxury hotels. There is a metro and a monorail for getting around. There are many international restaurants and shopping centers. There are not a lot of green spaces, but there are beautiful beaches. There is also a large number of offices and regional headquarters of multinationals.

Description of the Office

Our office is modern and functional. There is an open space for the teams and closed offices for the directors. There are two meeting rooms with audiovisual equipment. There is no cafeteria, but there is a shared kitchen. There is a terrace with a view of the marina.

Practice: Quantifiers with il y a