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### The City

Before describing what is in a city (**une ville**), here is how to talk about the city itself.

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### There Is / There Are (Il y a)

To state that something exists in a place, French uses the phrase **il y a**. This single phrase translates to both "there is" and "there are." It never changes form, whether you are talking about one thing or multiple things.

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Because **il y a** doesn't change, simply follow it with a plural article (like **des**) and a plural noun to say "there are."

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### A Lot Of (Beaucoup de)

To express quantity, use **beaucoup de** ("a lot of" or "many"). When the next word starts with a vowel, **de** drops its "e" and becomes **d'**.

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### Places in Town

Use **il y a** to point out local businesses and places in town, such as a bakery (**une boulangerie**), a movie theater (**un cinéma**), or a train station (**une gare**).

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There is / there are (il y a)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Knowing facts vs. familiarity (savoir, connaître)

Question	Answer
the city / the town	la ville
It is a big city.	C'est une grande ville.
there is / there are	il y a
There is a park in the city.	Il y a un parc dans la ville.
a lot of / many	beaucoup de
There is a big park with a lot of trees.	Il y a un grand parc avec beaucoup d'arbres.
the street	la rue
There are houses in the street.	Il y a des maisons dans la rue.
the restaurant	le restaurant
It is a nice French restaurant.	C'est un restaurant français sympa.
There are very nice restaurants here.	Il y a des restaurants très sympas ici.
the bakery	la boulangerie
In the street, there is a small bakery.	Dans la rue, il y a une petite boulangerie.
There are interesting things in the bakery.	Il y a des choses intéressantes dans la boulangerie.
the movie theater / the cinema	le cinéma
There is a big movie theater for the children.	Il y a un grand cinéma pour les enfants.
Movie theaters are often fun.	Les cinémas sont souvent amusants.
the hotel (m)	l'hôtel
There is a very modern hotel here.	Il y a un hôtel très moderne ici.
The beds in the hotels are very big.	Les lits dans les hôtels sont très grands.
the supermarket	le supermarché
There is a convenient supermarket in the city.	Il y a un supermarché pratique dans la ville.
Supermarkets have a lot of things.	Les supermarchés ont beaucoup de choses.
the bank	la banque
There is a big bank there.	Il y a une grande banque là.
The people are in the bank.	Les gens sont dans la banque.
the train station	la gare
There are always a lot of people in the train station.	Il y a toujours beaucoup de gens dans la gare.
It is a big, modern train station.	C'est une grande gare moderne.
here is, this is	voici
Here is a nice restaurant.	Voici un restaurant sympa.
there it is, here you are	voilà
Here is the train station, and there is the hotel.	Voici la gare, et voilà l'hôtel.
There is the bakery!	Voilà la boulangerie !
There is an interesting thing.	Voilà une chose intéressante.
everybody	tout le monde
Everybody is in the bakery.	Tout le monde est dans la boulangerie.
In the street, everybody is happy.	Dans la rue, tout le monde est content.

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