Breakdown of Le roi a construit cette tombe il y a trois millénaires.
avoir
to have
ce
this (before a noun)
le roi
the king
trois
three
Questions & Answers about Le roi a construit cette tombe il y a trois millénaires.
I thought il y a meant 'there is'. Why is it used here?
Can I put il y a trois millénaires at the beginning of the sentence instead?
Why is the verb a construit instead of just construit?
To talk about a completed past action, French uses the passé composé tense. This requires the helping verb a (from avoir) and the past participle construit (built). If you just said le roi construit, it would mean 'the king builds' in the present tense.