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il y a eu

there was, there was; there were

→ il
phrase Common #2,959
there was Past tense of il y a; used to say that something happened or existed.
FR: Il y a eu un problème avec le train.
EN: There was a problem with the train.

Et il y a eu une fuite de gaz à côté.

And there was a gas leak nearby.

— Atlantide, l'empire perdu (2001)

Il y a eu un problème.

There was a problem.

— La vie est belle (1997)

Il y a eu du grabuge.

There was a commotion.

Il y a eu une bataille.

There was a battle.

Il y a eu tant d'histoires autour de ça aux nouvelles, dernièrement.

There have been so many stories about it on the news lately.

— Tár (2022)

Il y a eu Seamus aussi.

There was Seamus too.

— Le vent se lève (2006)

Il y a eu une panne d'électricité pendant le typhon.

There was a power outage during the typhoon.

Il y a eu un autre incident.

There was another incident.

— Vivre (1952)

Il y a eu comme une erreur.

There seems to have been an error.

— Delicatessen (1991)

Il y a eu un court-circuit.

There was a short circuit.

Il y a eu des changements.

There have been changes.

Mon mari est mort, hélas, et il y a eu la guerre.

My husband died, alas, and then there was the war.

— Vacances à Venise (1955)

Il y a eu un petit accident.

There was a small accident.

— Titanic (1997)

Il y a eu une autre bataille.

There was another battle.

— Le Château ambulant (2004)

Il y a eu quelques passagers dans le train qui ont été blessés dans l'accident.

There were a few passengers on the train who were injured in the accident.

Memsahib réalise qu'il y a eu une injustice.

Memsahib realizes that an injustice has occurred.

— Lagaan (2001)

Il y a eu une explosion, Votre Éminence, sur la Piazza Barberini.

There has been an explosion, Your Eminence, in Piazza Barberini.

— Conclave (2024)

Il y a eu beaucoup de neige l'année dernière.

There was a lot of snow last year.

Il y a eu un changement de plans.

There has been a change of plans.

Il y a eu de vives réactions dans les couloirs du palais.

There were strong reactions in the palace corridors.

— Anatomie d'une chute (2023)

Mon père était resté seul à élever les vaches, mais il y a eu un problème.

My father was left alone to raise the cows, but there was a problem.

— Burning (2018)

Il y a eu un malentendu.

There was a misunderstanding.

Il y a eu des morts ?

Were there any deaths?

— Le vent se lève (2006)

Il y a eu un spectacle, ce soir.

There was a show tonight.

— Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)

Il y a eu orgasme ?

Was there an orgasm?

— Enquête sur un citoyen au-dessus de tout soupçon (1970)

Alors, ce permis, il y a eu un os ?

So, about that license—was there a hitch?

— Taxi (1998)

Il y a eu une enquête.

There was an investigation.

Il y a eu beaucoup de clients.

There were a lot of customers.

Mais avant, il y a eu la vie.

But before that, there was life.

— La grande bellezza (2013)

Il y a eu un cambriolage.

There has been a break-in.

Il y a eu de nombreux meurtres, l'année passée.

There were many murders last year.

Après tout ce qu'il y a eu entre nous ?

After everything that happened between us?

— Faute d'amour (2017)

Qu'est-ce qu'il y a eu ?

What happened?

— Les Affranchis (1990)

Il y a eu un incident en Chine.

There was an incident in China.

Oui, il y a eu un problème ici.

Yes, there was a problem here.

— Une seconde mère (2015)

Il y a eu un procès.

There was a trial.

Il y a eu du nouveau.

There was something new.

Il y a eu une collision.

There was a collision.

— Senna (2010)

Il y a eu toutes ces folies, et puis ces trucs ont commencé à apparaître.

There were all these crazy things, and then these things started to appear.

— Retour à Silent Hill (2026)

Il y a eu autre chose.

There was something else.

Il y a eu une terrible erreur.

There was a terrible mistake.

Il y a eu un autre problème.

There was another problem.

Il y a eu confusion avec la vraie remplaçante.

There was confusion with the actual replacement.

— Arrête-moi si tu peux (2002)

Récemment, il y a eu beaucoup de manifestations dans la ville.

Recently there have been many demonstrations in the city.

Il y a eu un drame.

There’s been a tragedy.

— Bacurau (2019)

Je vois qu'il y a eu du changement.

I see there has been a change.

— Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Il y a eu un petit malentendu.

There was a slight misunderstanding.

— Une bataille après l'autre (2025)

Il y a eu dix accidents en dix jours.

There were ten accidents in ten days.

Il y a eu une autre erreur.

There was another error.

— Oppenheimer (2023)

Il y a eu quoi ?

What happened?

Il y a eu une explosion.

There was an explosion.

— Interstellar (2014)

Il y a eu beaucoup de neige l'hiver dernier.

There was a lot of snow last winter.

Il était tellement ravi qu'il y a eu dix enfants.

He was so delighted that there were ten children.

— Masaan (2015)

Il y a eu un changement.

There has been a change.

Il y a eu un mariage ici ?

Was there a wedding here?

Désolé s'il y a eu malentendu.

Sorry if there was any misunderstanding.

— Fight Club (1999)

Il y a eu un vol.

There was a theft.

Il y a eu plusieurs coups de feu.

There were several shots fired.

Et puis un jour, il y a eu ce congrès à Berlin-Ouest.

And then one day, there was that congress in West Berlin.

— Good Bye Lenin! (2003)

Il y a eu une erreur.

There was an error.

— La vie est belle (1997)

Il y a eu beaucoup de fêtes.

There have been a lot of parties.

— Mon cœur est déjà pris (1999)

S'il y a eu inondation puis court-circuit, elle est bonne pour la casse.

If it was flooded and then short-circuited, it's a write-off.

— Salyut-7 (2017)

Il y a eu un cambriolage ?

There has been a break-in ?

— The Machinist (2004)

Il y a eu de nombreux morts.

There were many deaths.

Et puis, il y a eu les pluies.

And then there were the rains.

— Retour à Silent Hill (2026)

Il y a eu un incident.

There was an incident.

— Parasite (2019)

Il y a eu des jours meilleurs.

There have been better days.

— Léon (1994)

Il y a quelques années, il y a eu un énorme scandale.

A few years ago there was a huge scandal.

Pendant que nous buvions le thé, il y a eu un tremblement de terre.

While we were drinking tea, there was an earthquake.

Il y a eu un public très nombreux au concert d'hier.

There was a very large audience at yesterday’s concert.

Il y a eu hier un fort tremblement de terre.

There was a strong earthquake yesterday.

Il y a eu une descente, le Bouquetin a été enlevé.

There was a raid, the ibex was taken away.

— Une bataille après l'autre (2025)

Il y a eu trois survivants.

There were three survivors.

Il y a eu beaucoup d'activités dans le bureau ce matin.

There was a lot of activity in the office this morning.

Il y a eu une énorme explosion.

There was a huge explosion.

Il y a eu un banquet ?

Was there a banquet?

— Kin-dza-dza! (1986)

Il y a eu de bons moments.

There were some good times.

Il y a eu un déluge d'applaudissements.

There was a thunderous round of applause.

Et il y a eu ce crépuscule.

And then there was that twilight.

— Burning (2018)

Il y a eu un problème, j'ai dû renvoyer Cidinha.

There was a problem; I had to send Cidinha back.

— Aquarius (2016)

Il y a eu du gaz ici.

There was gas here.

— À l'ouest rien de nouveau (2022)

Il y a eu une bagarre devant le magasin quand le nouveau produit est sorti.

There was a fight in front of the store when the new product came out.

Un jour, il y a eu un gros oeuf.

One day there was a big egg.

Il y a eu soudainement un changement de plan.

There was a sudden change of plan.

Il y a eu Mangefeu.

There was Mangefeu.

— Pinocchio (2019)

Il y a eu une fête.

There was a party.

— Histoires de fantômes chinois (1987)

Il y a eu beaucoup de plaintes à propos du comportement de Tom.

There have been many complaints about Tom's behavior.

Il y a eu un coup de feu.

There was a gunshot.

Il y a eu un meurtre.

There has been a murder.

— Article 15 (2019)

Il y a eu des rumeurs.

There have been rumors.

— Volver (2006)

Il y a eu une agression aux ciseaux.

There was an attack with scissors.

— Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Il y a eu quelque chose.

There was something.

Il y a eu une explosion dans le labo.

There was an explosion in the lab.

Il y a eu beaucoup de morts.

There were many deaths.

S'il y a eu sabotage, ça ne vient pas de ce côté.

If there was sabotage, it didn't come from this side.

— Avengers (2012)

Il y a eu un changement de plan.

There has been a change of plan.

Il y a eu de tout.

There was a bit of everything.

— La Plateforme (2019)

Elle est violente, Mme Bishop, il y a eu agression.

She is violent, Ms. Bishop; an assault took place.

— Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Il y a eu un léger changement de plan.

There has been a slight change of plan.

Il y a eu des morts.

There were deaths.

Euh, il y a eu… un incident.

Uh, there was… an incident.

— Crime 101 (2026)

Il y a eu un puissant duel.

There was a powerful duel.

— Princess Bride (1987)

Il y a eu juste un problème.

There was just one problem.

— Troupe d'Élite : l'Ennemi Intérieur (2010)

Il y a eu une dispute.

There was an argument.

Il y a eu beaucoup de blessés et de morts.

There were many injured and dead.

— Le Garçon et le Héron (2023)

Il y a eu une évolution significative dans l'affaire du bambin disparu.

There has been a significant development in the case of the missing toddler.

Il y a eu un cambriolage chez Gringotts.

There has been a burglary at Gringotts.

— Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers (2001)

Il y a eu de nombreux meurtres, l'année dernière.

There were many murders last year.

Il y a eu un homme dans ta vie.

There was a man in your life.

— Moscou ne croit pas aux larmes (1980)

Il y a eu des hauts et des bas.

There have been ups and downs.

phrase Uncommon #14,768
there was; there were The past-tense form of « il y a », used to say that something existed, happened, or occurred in the past.
FR: Il y a eu un problème avec le train.
EN: There was a problem with the train.

D'après le journal, il y a eu un grand tremblement de terre au Chili hier.

According to the newspaper, there was a major earthquake in Chile yesterday.

Un jour, il y a eu un gros œuf.

One day, there was a big egg.

— Blade Runner (1982)

Normal, avec le défilé qu'il y a eu !

Of course, after the parade we had!

— Les Diaboliques (1955)

Le son était parfait et d'un coup, il y a eu des interférences.

The sound was perfect, and then suddenly there was interference.

— Blow Out (1981)

Mauricio Je vous rappelle qu'il y a eu deux morts.

Mauricio, let me remind you that there were two deaths.

— Les Nouveaux Sauvages (2014)

On dirait qu'il y a eu un attentat.

It looks like there’s been a terrorist attack.

— Femmes au bord de la crise de nerfs (1988)

Mais il y a eu ces querelles.

But there were those quarrels.

— Le Garde du corps (1961)

L'année passée, il y a eu une mauvaise récolte.

Last year, there was a poor harvest.

Oui, mais d'abord il y a eu une détonation.

Yes, but first there was a loud bang.

— Blow Out (1981)

Puis il y a eu un vol, et on a découvert qu'il ne pouvait pas voir la nuit !

Then there was a flight, and we discovered that he couldn’t see at night!

— 3 Idiots (2009)

D'après ce journal, il y a eu un séisme au Mexique.

According to this newspaper, there was an earthquake in Mexico.

Le lendemain, il y a eu une réunion.

The next day, there was a meeting.

— L'Agent secret (2025)

D'après les journaux il y a eu un tremblement de terre à Mexico.

According to the newspapers, there was an earthquake in Mexico City.

Vous savez qu'il y a eu une fête, dans l'immeuble ?

Did you know there was a party in the building?

— Aquarius (2016)

Je pense qu'il y a eu un malentendu.

I think there was a misunderstanding.

Avec tous les morts qu'il y a eu !

With all the deaths there have been!

— A Taxi Driver (2017)

À ce coin de rue il y a eu un accident dont on s'est souvenu pendant des années.

At this street corner, there was an accident that people remembered for years.

D'après le journal, il y a eu un grand incendie à Boston.

According to the newspaper, there was a major fire in Boston.

On dirait qu'il y a eu un accident au croisement.

It looks like there was an accident at the intersection.

— Le Conte de la princesse Kaguya (2013)

Selon le journal d'aujourd'hui, il y a eu un incendie en ville.

According to today's newspaper, there was a fire in town.

J'ai entendu qu'il y a eu un séisme à Shizuoka.

I heard there was an earthquake in Shizuoka.

La nuit dernière, il y a eu un incendie et je n'ai pas pu dormir.

Last night, there was a fire and I couldn't sleep.

S'il fait une remarque, on dit qu'il y a eu deux accidents.

If he makes a remark, we say that there were two accidents.

— La piel que habito (2011)