Question 1

What does il y avait mean, and where does it come from?

Accepted Answer

Il y avait means there was or there were. It is the imperfect past tense (l'imparfait) of the common phrase il y a (there is / there are). We use the imperfect tense here because asking if a disease existed describes an ongoing situation or state in the past, rather than a quick, completed action.

Question 2

Why does the sentence use qu'il instead of que il?

Accepted Answer

When the word que is followed directly by a word starting with a vowel, like il, the e must be dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. This makes it easier to pronounce in a flowing sentence. So, the question phrase Est-ce que il always becomes Est-ce qu'il.

Question 3

Why is the adjective grave placed after the noun?

Accepted Answer

In French, most adjectives go after the noun they describe. While a small group of common adjectives (like grand or petit) come before the noun, grave (serious) follows the standard rule and goes directly after une maladie (a disease).

Question 4

Does grave change its spelling because une maladie is feminine?

Accepted Answer

Normally, you add an e to an adjective to make it feminine. However, because the default masculine form of grave already ends in an e, the spelling stays exactly the same for both masculine and feminine nouns.

Est-ce qu'il y avait une maladie grave ?

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