y avoir

== French == === Etymology === Literally, “to have there”; from Middle French y avoir, from Old French i avoir, from Latin hīc (“here”) and habēre (“to have”). Compare Catalan haver-hi and Spanish hay. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /i.j‿a.vwaʁ/, /j‿a.vwaʁ/ === Verb === y avoir (impersonal, transitive) there be Il y a deux raisons. ― There are two reasons. ==== Usage notes ==== As with other impersonal verbs, the subject of y avoir is always il (sometimes indirectly, as in Il semble y avoir un problème (“There seems to be a problem”). Thus, unlike be in English (for there to be), which often takes plural forms, avoir always appears in one of its third-person singular forms. Thus, il y a une chose and il y a deux choses are equivalent to there is one thing and there are two things. The syntax is the ordinary syntax for adverbial pronoun y and transitive verb avoir; Il y en a deux. ― There are two of them. Y a-t-il une différence ? ― Is there a difference? N'y a-t-il plus de fromage ? ― Isn't there any more cheese? Va-t-il y avoir du monde ? ― Is there going to be a lot of people? etc. ==== Conjugation ==== This verb is impersonal and is conjugated only in the third-person singular. ==== See also ==== il y a == Middle French == === Etymology === Old French i avoir, from Latin hīc (“here”) and habēre (“to have”). === Verb === y avoir (impersonal) there be ==== Descendants ==== French: y avoir