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Le roi a construit cette tombe il y a trois millénaires.

Le roi a construit cette tombe il y a trois millénaires.
The king built this tomb three millennia ago.
From Lesson 97:Past time marker (il y a...)·French

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?
When you put il y a in front of an amount of time, it means 'ago'. While it literally looks like 'there is three millennia', this is the standard French way to say 'three millennia ago'.
Can I put il y a trois millénaires at the beginning of the sentence instead?
Yes! Just like in English, you can move the time expression. You could say Il y a trois millénaires, le roi a construit cette tombe (Three millennia ago, the king built this tomb).
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.
Why is it cette tombe and not ce tombe?
The word for tomb, tombe, is a feminine noun in French. To say 'this' or 'that' before a feminine noun, you must use cette. You would only use ce for masculine nouns.

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