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Il y sera - French Mistake

French mistakes analyzed and explained

By , About.com Guide

Mistakes will always be made in French, and now you can learn from them.

Wrong: Il y sera

Right: Il y aura

Explanation: The French expression il y a means "there is." The actual verb in French is avoir (literally "to have"), not être ("to be"). So when you want to use this expression in another tense or mood, you have to remember to conjugate avoir for that verb form.

   il y a - there is (present)
   il y avait - there was (imperfect)
   il y a eu - there was (passé composé)
   il y aura - there will be (future)
   il y aurait - there would be (conditional)

Related lessons:
   Using Il y a
   All about Avoir
   French verb tenses and moods

Note: While il y sera doesn't mean "there will be," it does have a meaning in French - "he will be there."
   Pierre est en France. Il y sera pendant trois mois.
   Pierre is in France. He'll be there for three months.
 

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