grimnir16

[loud glacier]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[steel river]

You would probably use the first one when talking about an actual place already mentioned in the conversation

• -Tu as entendu parler du concert d'Oasis cet été ?
  -Oui, j'y ai été (well here that's not the same tense but it doesn't matter.)
  And the second one more when refering to emotional support
• J'étais là quand tu étais au plus mal après ta rupture

That's what I think, I'm not 100% certain with this one

[slender nimbus]

Yes and no
They both mean "I was in (that place)"
But they get used in different contexts.

Y is a pronoun and replaces the preposition "à" + a noun. The place needs to have been previously mentioned or otherwise be completely clear from context.

Là, on the other hand, is an adverb that refers to a place, but it isn't as specific (note that là can refer to both space and time.)

Je suis allé à un concert hier soir, donc j'y étais quand tu es passé chez moi. (I went to a concert last night, so I was there [at the concert] when you stopped by my place.)

Finalement je suis pas allé au concert hier soir, donc j'étais là quand tu es passé chez moi – tu aurais dû sonner ! (In the end, I didn't go to the concert last night, so I was there [at home] when you stopped by my place - you should have rung!)