Study Hub

Study Guides

This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.

Back to Study HubBrowse Year 8 French Guides

Year 8 - French

Geneva: 'il y a' and 'il y avait'

Past experiences: -ER verbs in the present and past

Unit Summary

The perfect tense with 'avoir' for -er verbs, faire and dire is extended for all singular forms. Intonation and 'est-ce que' questions and negation in the present and perfect tenses are practised, and 'il y a' is contrasted with 'il y avait'. Open eu,oeu, open o and closed o,ô are taught.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use 'il y a' and 'il y avait' in French to express what there is/are or what there was/were on holiday.

Key Notes

  • French vowel sounds can be open or closed. The closed [eu] sound is like the [eu] in 'peu'.
  • The open [eu/œu] sound is in the word 'cœur'.
  • A pronounced consonant follows an open [eu/œu] sound, for example 'fleur' or 'jeune'.
  • To express there is or are, we use the expression 'il y a'. To express there was or were, we use 'il y avait'.
  • Both of these remain the same for singular or plural noun descriptions e.g. il y avait un chien, il y avait cinq chats.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • open [eu/œu]: sound-symbol correspondence like the [eu/œu] in 'cœur' which means 'heart'
  • closed [eu]: sound-symbol correspondence like the [eu] in 'peu' which means 'few'
  • il y a: French expression meaning 'there is' or 'there are'
  • il y avait: French expression meaning 'there was' or 'there were'

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • 'Il y a' and 'il y avait' mean there is and there was in descriptions of singular things.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.

French vowel sounds can be open or closed. The closed [eu] sound is like the [eu] in 'peu'. The open [eu/œu] sound is in the word 'cœur'.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'open [eu/œu]'

sound-symbol correspondence like the [eu/œu] in 'cœur' which means 'heart'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: 'Il y a' and 'il y avait' mean there is and there was in descriptions of singular things. Correction: 'Il y a' and 'il y avait' mean there is or there are and there was and there were. They stay the same if you are talking about one thing or more than one.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 8 French guide library.