Learn French: Il y a un désert, mais il n'y a pas de forêts. - There is a desert, but there are no forests.

Il y a un désert, mais il n'y a pas de forêts.

There is a desert, but there are no forests.

Breakdown of Il y a un désert, mais il n'y a pas de forêts.

not (used before the verb)

Questions & Answers about Il y a un désert, mais il n'y a pas de forêts.

Why is it de forêts instead of des forêts if 'forests' is plural?

In negative sentences, indefinite plural articles like des change to de (or d' before a vowel). Since we are saying there are 'no' forests using the negative phrase il n'y a pas, the plural word forêts must be preceded by de instead of des.

How does the ne ... pas negation wrap around il y a here?

The negative words ne and pas go on either side of the verb. In this phrase, the verb is a (has), and the pronoun y (there) always stays glued right in front of it. Therefore, ne goes before the y (dropping its 'e' to become n' because y acts like a vowel), resulting in il n'y a pas.

Il y a translates to 'there is' for the desert, but 'there are' for the forests. Does the phrase change for plural words?

No, it stays exactly the same! In French, il y a (and its negative form il n'y a pas) does double duty: it is used for both 'there is' with singular nouns and 'there are' with plural nouns.

Do I pronounce the 's' at the end of forêts?