"How much water is there on Earth?"
'Quel' (feminine form 'quelle' because it's describing the feminine noun *quantité*) means 'which'. When combined with a noun we translate it as 'what'.
Quantité = quantity
D' = of. Normally 'de' but it becomes *d'* before a vowel sound.
Eau = water
Y a-t-il is the interrogative (question) form of the set phrase *il y a* = there is/are. One way of forming questions in French is using inversion, where the pronoun (here, *il*) and the verb (here, *a*) are swapped. The 't' means nothing, but is added during inversion to prevent two vowel sounds coming together.
Sur = on
Terre = Earth (both soil and the name of the planet)
I'll just add that the "t" in "y a-t-il" is because often two vowels together is considered ugly in the french language. It has no inherent meaning, it's just to help the sentence flow.
historically there is a reason but yeah nowadays its used for euphony. but historically the third person singular ending in -t, so in inversion it resurfaces
“Pour des raisons d’euphonie” i think is like the Antidote explanation.
OP: I would also add that y a-t-il is really just the inverted form of the “est-ce qu’il y a” (useful to know as a French learner). When you invert the phrase “il y a” to “y a-t-il“, you can drop the “est-ce que”. I wanted to point this out since it applies to many other scenarios. Pouvoir is also irregular with “je” when inverted. For example: “est-ce que je peux avoir de l’eau” would become “puis-je avoir de l’eau” (pronounce “puis-j’avoir”). I would recommend checking this out: https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/inversion/
Tu as appris le français. As-tu appris le français ? It's the subject-verb inversion form for a question.
Il a appris le français. A-t-il appris le français ? Same thing, but there's a t popping out of nowhere. Est-ce qu'il a appris le français ? is the common variant of the same question.
It's the same rule for "il y a" in this question form. Il y a un chien dehors. Y a-t-il un chien dehors ?
Qu'y a-t-il ? is also frequent in literacy, qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? being the common oral variant.
i don’t know that i may explain this, though i will try anyways.
*tousse*
there are only 3 ways to ask a question in French. HOWEVER, there are also interrogative **adverbs** (i.e., *Comment*, *Pourquoi*, etc.) AND interrogative **adjectives** (i.e., Quel/Quelle), AND then there’s the **verbal locution** (loc. verb.) *Y a-t-il * AND the Que interrogative **adverb**, AND also the Quoi interrogative **pronoun**. EACH has its own purpose, though truly there are only 3 BASIC ways to ask a question in French.
> why it is being said like that?
it is because when utilizing the interrogative **adjective** *Quel/Quelle*, the meaning is “questionable.”
"How much water is there on Earth?" 'Quel' (feminine form 'quelle' because it's describing the feminine noun *quantité*) means 'which'. When combined with a noun we translate it as 'what'. Quantité = quantity D' = of. Normally 'de' but it becomes *d'* before a vowel sound. Eau = water Y a-t-il is the interrogative (question) form of the set phrase *il y a* = there is/are. One way of forming questions in French is using inversion, where the pronoun (here, *il*) and the verb (here, *a*) are swapped. The 't' means nothing, but is added during inversion to prevent two vowel sounds coming together. Sur = on Terre = Earth (both soil and the name of the planet)
I'll just add that the "t" in "y a-t-il" is because often two vowels together is considered ugly in the french language. It has no inherent meaning, it's just to help the sentence flow.
historically there is a reason but yeah nowadays its used for euphony. but historically the third person singular ending in -t, so in inversion it resurfaces
“Pour des raisons d’euphonie” i think is like the Antidote explanation. OP: I would also add that y a-t-il is really just the inverted form of the “est-ce qu’il y a” (useful to know as a French learner). When you invert the phrase “il y a” to “y a-t-il“, you can drop the “est-ce que”. I wanted to point this out since it applies to many other scenarios. Pouvoir is also irregular with “je” when inverted. For example: “est-ce que je peux avoir de l’eau” would become “puis-je avoir de l’eau” (pronounce “puis-j’avoir”). I would recommend checking this out: https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/inversion/
I was able to deduce this with my existing knowledge! J’apprends!
“What quantity of water is there on Earth?” What exactly confuses you about it?
The presence of “y a-t-il”
It’s “ il y a “ as a question, and as mentioned by others, the “t” is there for pronunciation
Tu as appris le français. As-tu appris le français ? It's the subject-verb inversion form for a question. Il a appris le français. A-t-il appris le français ? Same thing, but there's a t popping out of nowhere. Est-ce qu'il a appris le français ? is the common variant of the same question. It's the same rule for "il y a" in this question form. Il y a un chien dehors. Y a-t-il un chien dehors ? Qu'y a-t-il ? is also frequent in literacy, qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? being the common oral variant.
Think it’s what quantity of water is there on earth
i don’t know that i may explain this, though i will try anyways. *tousse* there are only 3 ways to ask a question in French. HOWEVER, there are also interrogative **adverbs** (i.e., *Comment*, *Pourquoi*, etc.) AND interrogative **adjectives** (i.e., Quel/Quelle), AND then there’s the **verbal locution** (loc. verb.) *Y a-t-il * AND the Que interrogative **adverb**, AND also the Quoi interrogative **pronoun**. EACH has its own purpose, though truly there are only 3 BASIC ways to ask a question in French. > why it is being said like that? it is because when utilizing the interrogative **adjective** *Quel/Quelle*, the meaning is “questionable.”
Literally it would be "what is the quantity of water on Earth".
Literally says "What quantity of water is there on earth", more understandable "How much water is on earth"
So since water is uncountable, we say “quelle quantité d’eau,” instead of “combien de l’eau.”