il a plu
il a plu is the French way to say "it rained".
This phrase is used to state that water fell from the sky in the past.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase means "it has rained". It uses the passé composé to express a completed action in the past.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb used here is pleuvoir (to rain), which is an impersonal verb. This means it is always used with the third-person singular pronoun il, which serves as a dummy subject similar to the English "it". While il a plu describes a completed event, the form il pleuvait (the imperfect tense) is used instead to describe ongoing weather or to provide the background setting in a story.
Did you know?
- In French, the word plu used in il a plu is a homonym for the past participle of plaire, meaning 'to please'. Depending on the context, the same sound can mean that it rained or that someone was pleased.
- The verb pleuvoir can be used figuratively to describe a sudden deluge of things, such as il a plu des critiques to say 'it rained criticisms'.
- In some Quebec dialects, the word a in il a plu can be a phonetic spelling of elle, meaning 'she'.
Examples in context
- Il a plu hier.It rained yesterday.This sentence is useful for stating the specific time, such as yesterday, when il a plu occurred.Tatoeba #1343566 by Aiji, translation #63300 by CK
- Il a plu énormément.It rained heavily.This sentence shows how to describe the intensity of the rain when using il a plu.Tatoeba #1505417 by martin9, translation #26701 by CK
- Il a plu sans arrêt.It rained nonstop.This sentence demonstrates how to describe rain that occurred without stopping using il a plu.Tatoeba #4894002 by sacredceltic, translation #26694 by CK
- Il a plu toute la nuit, les rues sont mouillées.It rained all night, and the streets are wet.
- 49 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Emma are talking about their weekend trip.
- GabrielEst-ce qu'il a plu pendant ton voyage ?Did it rain during your trip?
- EmmaOui, il a plu tout le samedi.Yes, it rained all Saturday.
- GabrielC'est vraiment dommage pour toi, Emma.That is really a shame for you, Emma.
- EmmaHeureusement, le soleil est revenu dimanche.Fortunately, the sun came back Sunday.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, il, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
