French Phrase
L'événement, c'était en mai.
Meaning
The speaker is stating that the event being discussed took place in the month of May. The use of "c'était" refers back to the event as a whole, giving a concise answer about its timing.
When to use
Use this sentence when you need to tell someone when a specific event happened, especially in response to a question like "Quand a eu lieu l'événement ?" or when you are narrating a story and want to place the event in time.
✦Grammar Breakdown
L'événementc'étaitenmai
L'événement
Masculine singular noun preceded by the definite article l'. The apostrophe replaces "le" before a vowel.
c'était
Contraction of ce + était. "Ce" is a dummy subject meaning "it"; "était" is the imparfait of être, used for past description.
en + month
The preposition "en" is used with months (and seasons) to indicate when something occurs. Months are not capitalized in French.
mai
Name of the month May. Pronounced /mɛ/.
🗨In Conversation
Quand a eu lieu l'événement ?
When did the event take place?
L'événement, c'était en mai.
The event, it was in May.
✕Common Mistakes
L'événement, c'est en mai.
Use the imparfait "c'était" for past events; "c'est" is present tense.
L'événement, c'était au mai.
Months are introduced with "en", not "au".
L'événement était en mai.
While grammatically possible, it loses the emphasis that "c'était" provides and sounds less natural in spoken French.
↔Alternatives
L'événement a eu lieu en mai.
The event took place in May.
C'était en mai.
It was in May.
L'événement s'est déroulé en mai.
The event unfolded in May.
Cultural Tip
In spoken French, the pause indicated by the comma mirrors a natural intonation break, emphasizing the event before giving its date. Remember that months are written in lowercase and never preceded by "au"; the correct preposition is "en" (e.g., "en mai", not "au mai").