il y a
/i.l‿i.j‿a/
The French phrase for 'ago' is il y a.
il y a is used to refer to the past, indicating a time that has gone by or a period since something occurred.
Meaning: past, gone by, since (postp)
What does it mean word for word?
While il y a literally means 'there is' or 'there are', it functions as 'ago' when it is followed by a time expression.
How does it change in a sentence?
In French, il y a precedes the time period, which is the opposite of the English 'ago' that follows the time period.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of il y a is /i.l‿i.j‿a/ and consists of 3 syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using depuis to mean 'ago'. While 'depuis' means 'since' or 'for', it is used for actions that started in the past and continue into the present. Use il y a to mark a completed point in the past.
Did you know?
- Despite being used to talk about the past, the verb a in il y a is the present tense of avoir, meaning 'to have'.
- The verb a in the phrase is a form of 'to have' from the Latin 'habet'. In its most literal sense, the phrase is rooted in the idea of 'possessing' a certain amount of time.
- The structure il y a uses an impersonal 'il', which does not refer to a specific person but functions like the English 'it' in 'it is raining'.
Examples in context
- C'était il y a un mois.That was a month ago.Tatoeba #6380798 by Aiji, translation #5008906 by CK
- C'était il y a des mois.That was months ago.Tatoeba #3601245 by sacredceltic, translation #3594120 by CK
- J'étais là il y a un an.I was there a year ago.Tatoeba #5186299 by Mag14, translation #5186120 by CK
- Il est parti il y a deux heures.He left two hours ago.
- Je l'ai vu y'a cinq minutes.I saw him five minutes ago.
- 620 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Léa are discussing a movie they saw.
- HugoTu as vu ce film il y a longtemps ?Did you see this movie a long time ago?
- LéaNon, je l'ai vu il y a deux jours.No, I saw it two days ago.
- HugoC'était un bon film, n'est-ce pas ?It was a good movie, wasn't it?
- LéaOui, il était génial.Yes, it was great.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ago” translations and entries il y a, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, il, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
