hier était
The English phrase "yesterday was" is translated into French as hier était.
This phrase is used to describe a quality or state of the previous day.
What does it mean word for word?
hier était literally means "yesterday was". The word hier means "yesterday" and était is the third-person singular imperfect form of the verb être (to be).
Did you know?
- The word hier comes from the Latin word 'heri', which has stayed remarkably consistent in its meaning and spelling over two millennia.
- French distinguishes between the calendar date hier and the experienced duration of the day, which is expressed as la journée d'hier.
- While hier means 'yesterday', adding avant creates avant-hier, which refers to 'the day before yesterday'.
Examples in context
- Hier était une bonne journée.Yesterday was a good day.This sentence shows how to use hier était to describe a day.Tatoeba #5552538 by Aiji, translation #1512147 by CM
- La fête d'hier était géniale.The party yesterday was awesome.This sentence uses hier était to describe a past event.Tatoeba #11611062 by Amastan, translation #11513679 by Amastan
- Le stylo que j'ai perdu hier était neuf.The pen I lost yesterday was a new one.This sentence uses hier était to describe a state of an object lost yesterday.Tatoeba #1482875 by sacredceltic, translation #1482485 by CK
- La journée d'hier a été très productive. Les tâches ont été accomplies avec succès.Yesterday was very productive. The tasks were successfully completed.
- Hier, c'était génial ! On a passé la journée au bord de la mer.Yesterday was awesome! We spent the day by the seaside.
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are talking about the weather.
- ChloéHier était vraiment trop chaud, n'est-ce pas ?Yesterday was really too hot, wasn't it?
- NathanOui, c'était insupportable toute la journée.Yes, it was unbearable all day.
- ChloéJe préfère le temps d'aujourd'hui.I prefer today's weather.
- NathanMoi aussi, c'est beaucoup plus frais.Me too, it's much cooler.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hier, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
