Word
Autrefois, il y avait souvent des guerres.
Meaning
In the past, there were often wars.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Autrefois, il y avait souvent des guerres.
des
some (plural indefinite)
souvent
often
autrefois
formerly
il y avait
there was, there were
Questions & Answers about Autrefois, il y avait souvent des guerres.
Why is il y avait singular when des guerres (wars) is plural?
Because il y avait is an impersonal expression. The il doesn't refer to the wars; it just acts as a grammatical placeholder, much like the word 'it' in 'it is raining'. Whether you are talking about one thing or many things, the expression always stays singular: il y a in the present, and il y avait in the past.
Why do we use the imparfait (il y avait) here instead of the passé composé?
The imparfait is used for setting a scene and describing how things 'used to be' over an unspecified period of time. The words autrefois (in the past/formerly) and souvent (often) are strong hints that we are talking about ongoing past situations or habits, which is exactly what the imparfait is for!
Is autrefois the only way to say 'in the past'?
Why does it use des guerres instead of les guerres?