Mon appartement (Il y a & Home Vocabulary)
Describe your home using il y a, room names, and furniture vocabulary.
IL Y A: one of the most essential French expressions
MEANING: there is (singular) / there are (plural). Il y a is INVARIABLE: it never changes form regardless of whether what follows is singular or plural
SINGULAR: Il y a un problème (there is a problem) (There is a problem). Il y a une pharmacie près d'ici (there is a pharmacy nearby) (There is a pharmacy nearby).
PLURAL: Il y a des étudiants (there are students) (There are students). Il y a trois chambres dans mon appartement (there are three bedrooms in my apartment).
NEGATIVE: Il n'y a pas de + noun (article changes to DE): Il n'y a pas de parking (there is no parking). Il n'y a pas d'ascenseur (there is no elevator). Il n'y a pas de problème (there is no problem) !
QUESTION: Il y a... ? or Est-ce qu'il y a (is there) ... ? or Y a-t-il (is there) ... ? (formal inversion with euphonic -t-): Y a-t-il un médecin dans la salle (is there a doctor in the room) ? Il y a une station de métro ici (there is a metro station here) ?
Common mistake: 'Il y a sont deux chats': il y a NEVER takes être. Correct: Il y a deux chats. (There are two cats.)
Common mistake: 'Il n'y a pas des problèmes': after negation des becomes DE. Correct: Il n'y a pas de problèmes. (There are no problems.)
- Il y a un salon et deux chambres dans mon appartement. — There is a living room and two bedrooms in my apartment.
- Il n'y a pas de garage, mais il y a un parking. — There is no garage, but there is a parking space.
- — Est-ce qu'il y a une terrasse ? — Oui, il y a une grande terrasse au 5e étage. — — Is there a terrace? — Yes, there is a large terrace on the 5th floor.
- — Il y a combien de pièces ? — Il y a quatre pièces en tout. — — How many rooms are there? — There are four rooms altogether.
DESCRIBING YOUR HOME: vocabulary and structures
ROOMS: la cuisine (the kitchen; cooking) (kitchen), le salon (the living room) (living room), la salle à manger (the dining room) (dining room), la chambre (the bedroom; room) (bedroom), la salle de bains (the bathroom) (bathroom), les toilettes (the toilet)study), le couloir (the corridor) (hallway), le balcon (balcony) (balcony), la terrasse (the terrace; outdoor café seating) (terrace)
FURNITURE: le lit (the bed) (bed), le canapé (the sofa) (sofa), la table (the table) (table), les chaises (the chairs) (chairs), l'armoire (the wardrobe) (wardrobe), la commode (chest of drawers) (dresser), les étagères (the shelves) (shelves), le frigo (the fridge (informal)) (fridge), le four (oven) (oven), le lave-vaisselle (dishwasher) (dishwasher)
NOTE: both la salle de bains (the bathroom) and la salle de bain (the bathroom) are correct, and dictionaries list both; this course uses salle de bains.
Common mistake: 'une salon', 'un cuisine': learn each room with its article, because the gender is not predictable from English. Correct: un salon (a living room), une cuisine (a kitchen)
- J'habite dans un appartement de trois pièces au quatrième étage. Il y a un ascenseur. — I live in a three-room apartment on the fourth floor. There is an elevator.
- Mon appartement est petit mais lumineux. Il y a beaucoup de fenêtres. — My apartment is small but bright. There are many windows.
- Ma chambre donne sur la rue principale. C'est un peu bruyant. — My bedroom faces the main street. It's a bit noisy.