ELONIO
Log inSign up

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

Il y avait de l'électricité chez mon grand-père.
There was electricity at my grandfather's house.
From Lesson 131:Past impersonal verbs (il y avait, il fallait)·French

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).

Learn Il y avait de l'électricité chez mon grand-père and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →