Fut-il (en. Was it)

/fy.t il/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

noun

Interrogative form of the auxiliary verb "to be" in the past.

Was he a good student?

Fut-il un bon élève ?

Used in a hypothetical construction.

If he had been present, things would have been different.

S'il fut-il présent, les choses auraient été différentes.

Literary expression for questioning the past.

Was it a better time?

Fut-il un temps meilleur ?

"Fut-il" comes from "fut," which is the simple past of the verb "être" and "il," a personal pronoun.

was there a time when

reference to an assumed past

fut-il un temps où

could it have been possible that

inquiry about a past possibility

fut-il possible que

was it necessary

question about the necessity of a past action

fut-il nécessaire

to be

verb that means to exist or to be located

être

personal pronoun subject of the third person singular

was

simple past of the verb to be

fut

Expression used to question past events in a humorous way.

Oh really, was he rich like Croesus?

Ah vraiment, fut-il riche comme Crésus ?

Used in literary contexts for a dramatic effect.

Was he a hero of our time?

Fut-il un héros de notre temps ?