Breakdown of Ils allaient y passer avant la fermeture, mais ils ont eu un problème.
un
a / an (masculine)
mais
but
ils
they (masculine/mixed)
avoir
to have
le problème
the problem
aller
to go
la
her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)
y
there (pronoun) / to it
passer
to pass by / go past
avant
before
la fermeture
the closing
Questions & Answers about Ils allaient y passer avant la fermeture, mais ils ont eu un problème.
Why do we use the imparfait for allaient but the passé composé for ont eu?
Allaient is in the imparfait to describe an ongoing intention in the past: they were going to. Ont eu is in the passé composé because it describes a sudden, completed event that interrupted that plan: they had a problem. This combination is the standard way to express an unfulfilled past intention in French.
Why is the pronoun y placed before passer and not before allaient?
When a sentence has a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive (like allaient passer), object pronouns like y almost always go immediately before the infinitive they logically belong to. Because they were going to drop by there, y goes right in front of passer.
Does passer always mean to drop by?
Not always! Passer usually translates to to pass (like passing a ball or passing time). However, when talking about locations, passer or y passer is very commonly used idiomatically to mean to drop by, to pop in, or to stop by a place.
Could I use the verb form avant de fermer instead of the noun avant la fermeture?
Learn Ils allaient y passer avant la fermeture, mais ils ont eu un problème 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