il y a eu beaucoup de

there was a lot of

→ il

phrase Rare #32,396

there was a lot of Use before a noun; the phrase can also mean “there were a lot of” when referring to plural things.

FR: Il y a eu beaucoup de monde au concert.

EN: There were a lot of people at the concert.

A lot of people got sick during the crossing.

— Il était une fois en Chine (1991)

There were many deaths.

There was a lot of snow last year.

Recently there have been many demonstrations in the city.

There have been a lot of parties.

— Mon cœur est déjà pris (1999)

There were many injured and dead.

— Le Garçon et le Héron (2023)

Were there a lot of patients yesterday?

— Syndromes and a century (2006)

There’s been a lot of gossip about your girlfriends in quite a few newspapers?

— Shaolin Soccer (2001)

There was a lot of snow last winter.

There have been many complaints about Tom's behavior.