n'y a-t-il

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n‿ja.t‿il/

• audio

  (file)

Verb

n’y a-t-il

1. negative form of y a-t-il; isn't there? aren't there? (after a modal adverb or jamais) there isn't, there aren't

   N’y a-t-il rien à faire ? ― Isn't there anything to do?

   N’y a-t-il pas de trains ? ― Aren't there any trains?

   Peut-être n’y a-t-il aucune solution. ― Perhaps there isn't any solution.

   Jamais n’y a-t-il eu autant de monde ici. (present perfect) ― There has never [lit. ‘not ever’] been that many people here.

   • 2014, Un féminisme radical de plus en plus visible‎^[1]:

     Jamais n’y a-t-il eu autant de femmes engagées sur les campus

     There has never [lit. ‘not ever’] been that many committed women on campuses

   • 2021, "Les écrans sont l’arme du crime idéale pour siphonner notre attention"‎^[2]:

     Pourtant, sans doute jamais n’y a-t-il eu autant de "platistes" - de personnes affirmant que la Terre est plate

     Yet, there has without doubt never [lit. ‘not ever’] been that many "platists" - people claiming that the Earth is flat

Usage notes

• In interrogative clauses, this fragment is typically used either with a negative adverb, such as pas or jamais, or with a negative object, such as rien. Hence "N'y a-t-il pas de trains ?", "N'y a-t-il rien à faire ?", and so on. See ne.
• It may also be used in declarative clauses after a modal adverb or after jamais (see examples and quotations).