You already know that combien is the interrogative word for how much or how many.
When combien is followed by a noun, you will add de or d’. De is used before a consonant, while d’ is used before a vowel.
For example:
Combien de chiens as-tu?
How many dogs do you have?
Combien d’ordinateurs sont dans la salle de classe?
How many computers are in the classroom?
II y a
In many instances, you will need to respond to these questions with there is or there are.
In French, the expression il y a means both of these.
The interrogative, inverted, or question form of this expression is y a-t-il.
Combien d’étoiles (stars) y a t-il sur le drapeau américain?
How many stars are there on the American flag?
Il y a cinquante étoiles sur le drapeau américain.
There are fifty stars on the American flag.
You may also use est-ce qu’ in front of il y a.
Est-ce qu’il y a cinquante étoiles sur le drapeau américain?
To answer a question using il y a in the negative, use the following word order: Il n’y a pas de / d’…
Y a t-il une lune sur le drapeau américain?
Is there a moon on the American flag?
Non, il n’y a pas de lune sur le drapeau américain.
Est-ce qu’il y a un oiseau sur le drapeau américain?
Non, il n’y a pas d’oiseau sur le drapeau américain.
La ville (the city)
Read, study, and listen to the following vocabulary words.
la banque: bank
la boulangerie: bread store
la bibliothèque: library
le café: café
le centre: commercial mall
le cinéma: movie theater
l’école: school
l’église: church
le fleuriste: flower shop
le gymnase: gym
l’hôpital: hospital
l’hôtel: hotel
le lac: lake
la librairie: bookstore
le magasin: department store
le marché: fruit and vegetable market
le musée: museum
la patinoire: stationery store
la pâtisserie: bakery
la pharmacie: pharmacy
la piscine: swimming pool
la plage: beach
la poste: post office
le restaurant: restaurant
le stade: stadium
la station: d’essence gas station
le supermarché: supermarket
le zoo: zoo
The preposition à
Do you remember the preposition à?
It means to, in, or at.
This is a commonly used preposition, and it can be used alone with a proper noun, or it can be used with a definite article and a common noun.
Sometimes, you can simply use à and the definite article together, but there are other times in which you will need to form a new word.
Read, study, and listen to the four forms of à and the definite article.
à + definite article
Final form
Notes
à + la
à la
stays the same
à + le
au
changes to au for better pronunciation
à + l'
à l'
stays the same
à + les
aux
changes to aux to avoid sounding like the verb aller
The preposition à: examples
Hélène habite à Paris. (proper noun)
Helen lives in Paris.
Elle travaille à la poste. (common noun, feminine, singular)
She works at the post office.
Elle va au café le mardi. (common noun, masculine, singular)
She goes to the café on Tuesdays.
Hélène marche à l’église. (common noun, vowel, singular) Helen walks to church.
Elle aime aller aux marchés differents. (common noun, plural) She likes to go to the different markets.