thereTo say that something exists, English starts with "there", as in "there is" or "there are". French instead uses the two little words il ("it") and y ("there") together right before the verb. You will see this most often with a ("has") in the set phrase il y a, which literally means "it there has" but simply translates to "there is" or "there are". For example, « Il y a un chat » means "There is a cat", and « Il y a deux chats » means "There are two cats."