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Cet hôpital est abandonné, il n'y a personne.

Cet hôpital est abandonné, il n'y a personne.
This hospital is abandoned, there is no one.
From Lesson 112:Negative pronouns (ne... personne)·French

Questions & Answers about Cet hôpital est abandonné, il n'y a personne.

Why is there no pas in the second part of the sentence?
When you use the negative pronoun personne (nobody or no one), it completely replaces pas. You use ne (or n') before the verb and personne after it. Saying il n'y a pas personne would be like saying "there isn't nobody" in English!
How does ne... personne work with the phrase il y a (there is)?
The negative words wrap around the pronoun y and the verb a. The ne drops its 'e' to become n' and goes right before y, while personne goes at the very end. This turns il y a into il n'y a personne (there is no one).
Does the pronoun personne change its spelling if we are talking about women or multiple people?
No! When used as a negative pronoun meaning "nobody" or "no one", personne never changes its form. Be careful not to confuse it with the noun une personne (a person), which can become plural (des personnes).
Why is it cet hôpital instead of ce hôpital?
Hôpital is a masculine noun. Normally, you use ce for "this" with masculine words. However, because hôpital starts with a silent H, you must use cet to make the pronunciation flow smoothly.

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