Learn French: Il y avait de l'électricité chez mon grand-père. - There was electricity at my grandfather's house.

Il y avait de l'électricité chez mon grand-père.

There was electricity at my grandfather's house.

Breakdown of Il y avait de l'électricité chez mon grand-père.

chez

at the home of / at

of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)

Questions & Answers about Il y avait de l'électricité chez mon grand-père.

How does il y a become il y avait here?

Il y a means "there is" or "there are". To say "there was" or "there were", we change the verb a (from avoir, to have) into the imperfect tense, which gives us avait. We use the imperfect here because we are describing an ongoing past situation or setting the scene.

If there were multiple things, would il y avait become plural?

No, it never changes! Just like il y a works for both "there is" and "there are", il y avait works for both "there was" and "there were". The il here doesn't mean "he"—it's an impersonal placeholder, much like the "it" in "it is raining".

Why do we need de l' before électricité?

In English, we just say "electricity", but in French, uncountable nouns require a partitive article (like saying "some"). The article for feminine words is usually de la, but because électricité starts with a vowel, it drops the "a" and becomes de l'.

Why does chez mon grand-père translate to "at my grandfather's house"?

The preposition chez translates roughly to "at the home of" or "at the place of" when used with a person. You don't need the French word for "house" (maison) at all! It can also be used for businesses, like chez le dentiste (at the dentist's office).