Breakdown of C'est la ville où il y a un grand festival.
un
a / an (masculine)
grand
big / tall
la ville
the city / the town
il y a
there is / there are
où
where
c'est
it is, that is
le festival
the festival
Questions & Answers about C'est la ville où il y a un grand festival.
Why does "où" have an accent mark in this sentence?
In French, où with a grave accent means "where" (or "when"). The accent doesn't change the pronunciation, but it's important for writing because it tells it apart from ou without an accent, which means "or". Here, it connects the two halves of our sentence: "the city" and what happens there.
Why is the adjective "grand" placed before "festival"?
Most French adjectives go after the noun, but grand describes size. Adjectives that describe Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, and Size (often remembered by the acronym BANGS) are exceptions that typically come before the noun they describe.
Does "il y a" change if we talk about multiple festivals?
No, il y a is a fixed expression. It means both "there is" and "there are". Even if this sentence talked about multiple festivals, you would still use il y a.
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