Breakdown of Il y a plusieurs semaines que je veux m'installer à l'étranger.
je
I
la semaine
the week
vouloir
to want
que
that (introducing a clause)
plusieurs
several
à l'étranger
abroad
il y a... que
it has been (duration)
s'installer
to settle down
Questions & Answers about Il y a plusieurs semaines que je veux m'installer à l'étranger.
Why is this sentence in the present tense (je veux) when the English translation uses the present perfect ("I have wanted")?
I learned that il y a means "there is" or "ago". How does it work here?
You are completely right that il y a plus a time amount usually means "ago" (for example, il y a deux semaines means "two weeks ago"). However, when you add que to make the structure Il y a [duration] que..., it becomes a completely different phrase meaning "It has been [duration] that...". You can also use Ça fait [duration] que... to say the exact same thing.
Why is there an m' in front of installer?
The verb used here is the reflexive verb s'installer, which means "to settle down" or "to move in". Even though the verb stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form after je veux, its reflexive pronoun still has to match the subject of the sentence. Since the subject is je, the pronoun becomes me, which drops its "e" to become m' before the vowel in installer.
Does à l'étranger literally mean "to the stranger"?
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