Questions & Answers about Il y a des choses intéressantes dans la boulangerie.
Does Il y a change if we are talking about multiple things, like 'There are'?
No, and that makes it very easy to use! In English, we switch between 'There is' for one thing and 'There are' for many things. In French, Il y a is used for both singular and plural. It automatically translates to 'There are' here because we are talking about des choses (things). Why do we need the word des before choses?
In English, we can just say 'There are interesting things' with no word before the noun. In French, you almost always need an article (like a, the, or some) before a noun. des is the plural form of un or une, and it acts a bit like the word 'some'. Why does the adjective intéressantes come after choses?
In English, adjectives usually come right before the noun ('interesting things'). In French, most adjectives come after the noun they describe. That is why it is written as choses intéressantes (literally 'things interesting'). Why does intéressantes end in -es?
French adjectives have to match the gender and number of the noun they describe. The word chose is a feminine noun. Since there is more than one (des choses), the adjective takes the feminine plural ending, which adds an extra -e followed by an -s. Could we say à la boulangerie instead of dans la boulangerie?
Yes, but there is a slight difference in meaning. à la boulangerie means 'at the bakery' as a general location. Using dans (in or inside) specifically points out that these interesting things are physically inside the shop itself. Learn Il y a des choses intéressantes dans la boulangerie and more in French
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