Useful phrase
Il y a: one French phrase, two essential meanings.
Bonjour ! As a French teacher, I love introducing this phrase because it gives you so much return on your investment. Il y a is a high-frequency phrase that you will hear constantly. It can mean "there is," "there are," or "ago" depending entirely on the context of the sentence.
There is / there are
The most common use describes what exists in a place or situation. The best part? Unlike English, which forces you to choose between singular ("there is") and plural ("there are"), French keeps it simple. Il y a never changes, no matter how many items you are talking about!
« Il y a un café près d'ici. » (There is a cafe near here.)
« Il y a beaucoup de monde. » (There are a lot of people.)
« Il y a une erreur. » (There is a mistake.)
Negative form
To say "there is not" or "there are not", you must wrap the negative words around the pronoun "y" and the verb "a", resulting in il n'y a pas. In casual, rapid speech on the streets of Paris, you will often hear native speakers shorten this to just "y a pas", but it is important to learn and write the full form first.
« Il n'y a pas de problème. » (There is no problem.)
« Il n'y a pas de pain. » (There is no bread.)
Ago
This is where English speakers often get tripped up, but it is very straightforward once you see the pattern. When you pair il y a with a time expression, its meaning completely transforms to "ago."
« Il y a deux jours. » (Two days ago.)
« J'ai commencé il y a un mois. » (I started a month ago.)
Practice
To make this stick, I want you to practice right now. Look around your current room and say three sentences out loud using the vocabulary you know. For example: Il y a un livre, Il y a une chaise, or Il y a beaucoup de lumière. Then, challenge your memory and make one sentence about time: J'ai étudié il y a une heure (I studied one hour ago). You are doing wonderfully, keep it up!