Breakdown of Si nous colonisons l'espace et qu'il y ait plus de colons, nous construirons des bases.
et
and
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
des
some (plural indefinite)
il y a
there is / there are
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
plus
more
si
if
que
that (introducing a clause)
construire
to build
l'espace
the space (m)
la base
the base
coloniser
to colonize
le colon
the colonist
Questions & Answers about Si nous colonisons l'espace et qu'il y ait plus de colons, nous construirons des bases.
Why does the sentence use qu'il y ait instead of repeating si (et s'il y a)?
In French, when you have two conditions joined by et (and), it is considered bad style to repeat si. Instead, you replace the second si with que (or qu' before a vowel). The grammatical catch is that when que replaces si, the verb that follows must be in the subjunctive mood. That is why the indicative il y a becomes the subjunctive il y ait.
If I replace other conjunctions like quand with que, do I also use the subjunctive?
Usually, no. You can use que to avoid repeating conjunctions like quand (when) or comme (since), but they typically keep the indicative mood. The rule requiring the subjunctive is specific to using que as a replacement for si.
Where does the form ait come from in il y ait?
Il y ait is the subjunctive form of the impersonal expression il y a (there is / there are). Since the core verb is avoir (to have), which is highly irregular in the subjunctive, the third-person singular form is ait. Because the expression is impersonal, il y ait is the only form you need to learn for it.
Why is colonisons in the present tense if the action is happening in the future?
This sentence uses a classic First Conditional structure for a likely future event. Just like in English, the si clause (the condition) must be in the present tense (si nous colonisons), even though the result clause is in the future tense (nous construirons). You can never put a future tense verb directly after si.
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