French Expression 12. " voilà "

French Expression 12 Voilà

A very frequently used expression is " Voilà " . Let us observe how this expression is used by French speakers. Vois = see. This is the imperative of the verb " voir ".  Là = there . The word is derived from these two words. It is used primarily as a presentative expression .

1. Le voilà qui arrive - There he comes !
2. Voilà mon ami Durand ! There you see my friend Durand !

" Voilà " can be preceded by a pronoun as in the first example above or followed by a noun as in the second example to invite somebody's attention to some happening.

We are expecting some person . He is coming . One in the group says. " there he comes "

Le voilà qui arrive !

You can also say " le voilà ".

If the person were a woman , say , " La voilà ". - There she is !

In the case of any noun, remember it should be placed after " Voilà " and not before as is the case with the pronoun. Hope the point is clear.

It is also used while summing up or concluding in the final statement along with " et" as " et voilà ".

" Et voilà , arrive la fin de cet homme misérable "

And thus came the end of that miserable man .

Before making the above statement, the speaker had narrated the story of a man and particularly his end. At the conclusion " Et voilà " is used.Hope you got it.

While " Voici " means  " here is " to denote something nearer to the speaker , "  Voilà "   is used to denote something which is little away from the speaker.

Voici mon ami ! Here is my friend !

Voilà ta mère . Ne pleure pas. - There you see your mother. Don't cry.


There are many more expressions containing " Voilà " . In due course, i intend taking them up. I want these notes as brief as possible.

Voilà pourquoi , je m'arrête . -- That is why  I stop now. ( Voilà pourquoi = C'est pourquoi = that is why )

T. K. Jayaraman
30/07/2015
Bangalore