Use of Il y a in a question

Tayla S.A1Kwiziq community member

Use of Il y a in a question

Could I technically ask Qu'est-ce qu'il y a la distance entre Paris et Lyon? Would that make sense considering "il y a" can be used in questions.

Asked 1 year ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Tayla, 

What you suggest doesn't make any sense in French if you want to say -

What is the distance between Paris and Lyon? Quelle est la distance entre Paris et Lyon ?

 

What is there between Paris and Lyon? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a entre Paris et Lyon ? 

 

 

May I suggest you take a look at the following lesson -

Quel/quels/quelle/quelles ? = Which/what? (French Question Words)

Hope this helps!

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Salut Tayla,

Your query reads "Is there a distance between Paris and Lyon?" this would need to be expressed as "Quelle est la distance entre Paris et Lyon?"

An example, using il y a 

"Est-ce qu'il y a un restaurant près d'ici?"   --> "Is there a restaurant near here?"

Further information on usage in the following link:-

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/expressions/il-y-a/

Hope this helps.

Bonne continuation.

Jim

Use of Il y a in a question

Could I technically ask Qu'est-ce qu'il y a la distance entre Paris et Lyon? Would that make sense considering "il y a" can be used in questions.

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Thinking...