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Chapeau! First-Year French (Dinneen and Madeleine)
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28.21: Part 3: 20 THE VERBAL EXPRESSIONS "IL Y A," "VOICI," "VOILÀ"

28.21: Part 3: 20 THE VERBAL EXPRESSIONS "IL Y A," "VOICI," "VOILÀ"

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Part 3: Miscellanea

In this part, we will discuss various constructions and words that do not fit neatly under either of the preceding large classes of grammatical phenomena. Some are morphological (word-formation) questions, or matters of spelling conventions; some are special lexical matters—words that deserve individual discussion; some are properly "syntax" questions that we frankly could not include logically in the first two parts.

20 THE VERBAL EXPRESSIONS "IL Y A," "VOICI," "VOILÀ"

20.1 Il y a

The expression il y a, which involves use of the verb avoir in the third person singular and can be used in all tenses, is used to state the presence or existence of something.

Since it is usually used to mention something not previously mentioned, il y a almost always is followed by an indefinite noun phrase: one that starts with an indefinite article or a partitive article. Consider the following examples:

Il y a un livre sur la table.	There's a book on the table.
Il y a des poissons dans ce lac.	There are (some) fish in this lake.
Il y avait du pain dans le frigo.	There was (some) bread in the refrigerator.

Although this is a fairly "tight" idiomatic construction, the parts can sometimes be separated from each other. For example, en can occur between y and a, and the negative or interrogative can cause il to be separated or moved. All such changes follow the usual rules for pronoun object order (y before en) or the negative or interrogative constructions. Consider the following examples:

Y a-t-il du pain?	Is there any bread?
Il y en avait dans le frigo.	There was some in the refrigerator.
N'y a-t-il pas de festival cette année?	Isn't there a festival this year?

20.2 Voici/Voilà

These expressions together are easily distinguished from the preceding one (il y a). They do not simply assert the existence or presence of something, but rather they are used to point (literally or figuratively) at something fairly definite, usually something in view of both the speaker and hearer.

Voici ton stylo.	Here's your pen.
Voilà mon père.	There's my father.
Voilà une bonne idée.	There's a good idea.

(Referring to an idea just mentioned, for example, by the other speaker.)

As you see above, the direct object nouns follow this verbal expression. (They are direct objects because the expression literally means "See here...". ) When the object is a pronoun, it precedes, according to the usual rule.

Le voici.	Here it is.
Les voilà.	There they are.