Bonjour! My name is David! Welcome! Follow me on In this lesson you will learn how to say something that you did in the past in French – and in particular how to express “ago”. To say ago in French you must use the word “Il y a”. The pronunciation for this is “Eel yee a” and it has two definitions: “There are” and “Ago”.
Please watch the movie below then read through the practice sentences and explanations. In the first group of practice sentences (see below video) you’ll see Il y a used in its first meaning: There are. In the second group you’ll see it used in its second meaning: Ago. By the way – I’ve also introduced this lesson as it gives you a good chance to practice the passé composé (past tense).
Also, please note that there are two other great ways of expressing events that took place in the past: Ça fait, which means, “It’s been” and depuis, which means since. We’ll explore these terms in future lessons.
Practice Phrases
First Meaning – There Are
il y a deux filles.
There are two girls.
il y a quelqu’un dans la maison.
There is somebody in the house.
il y a beaucoup de gens au chômage.
There are a lot of unemployed people.
Second Meaning – Ago
Je suis allé il y a sept ans.
I went seven years ago.
Elle est venue la première fois il y a un an.
She came for the first time one year ago.
J’ai lu le livre il y a deux semaines.
I read the book two weeks ago.
Il a vécu en France il y a vingt ans.
He lived in France twenty years ago.
Nous sommes allés aux États-Unis il y a un an.
We went to the USA one year ago.
Vous êtes venus la deuxième fois il y a trois mois.
You came for the second time three months ago.
Elle a commencé ses études en langues étrangères il y a dix ans.
She started her studies in foreign languages ten years ago.
More French Lessons:
Tagged with: ago in French • Il y a • passé composé • Practice Phrases
Subscribe to my RSS feed and get more lessons!