’three months ago’ | French - Learn French in a friendly community! | Page 1

zealous narwhalBOT Jul 21, 2025, 10:14 PM

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Please be patient

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’three months ago’

sullen timber Jul 21, 2025, 10:15 PM

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I don't understand how "il y a trois mois" can mean "three months ago".
The sentence wasn't saying "There have been three months since I started". There's no "ago" or "since".

faint elbow Jul 21, 2025, 10:17 PM

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"il y a" just means "ago" when it's followed by a time period. It's probably best to think of it as a single word with no further meaning.

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it's not the same as the "il y a" meaning "there is" (maybe common roots, but overall unrelevant)

sullen timber Jul 21, 2025, 10:18 PM

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Does that logic apply to other things too? Like "I fell asleep il y a trois gares" (three stations ago).

pallid marten Jul 21, 2025, 10:18 PM

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Je n'apprendre
je viens d'apprendre
Mais, je parle "il y a..." pour direr "There is/are..."
je parle de "il y a" pour dire

faint elbow Jul 21, 2025, 10:19 PM

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sullen timber Does that logic apply to other things too? Like "I fell asleep il y a trois gar...

to some limited extent but it is less flexible than in English, I would recommend sticking to time periods, it's used for that 99% of the time anyway

#’three months ago’