Answers
Sep 12, 2015 - 11:53 AM
I would use "là-bas" for "over there" and "par-là" for "around there".
Sep 24, 2015 - 05:29 AM
Salut everyone, Là-bas and Par là are quite different. Là-bas is used in the sense of There to talk about a specific location. So you use it when you are thinking of a precise location. Its opposite is Ici – Here.
Je vais là-vas – I’m going there (e.g. the museum, the Eiffel Tower, etc.)
Le bureau est là-bas – The office is there (e.g. in Montmartre, in Montreal, next to Notre Dame, etc.)
You might also remember Là from session 6 of level 1, which also expresses a specific location and can also be translated as There. But contrary to Là-bas it refers to something that is close to you. So if you are pointing at something and you want to make it clear that it's very close, you can say:
C'est là - It's there
And if you want to make it clear that it's a little further away, on the other side of the room or the street, for example, you'd say:
C'est là-bas - It's there
Par là, on the other hand, has a quite different meaning. It can be translated as Around or Over there and its opposite is Par ici – Around/Over here. You use it when you don't know the precise location:
Les toilettes sont par là – The restrooms are around here
And to give directions in the sense of This/That way:
Les toilettes sont par là – The toilettes are over there (this way)
So, it's specific location: Là-bas, vague location and directions: Par là. I hope this helps.
Je vais là-vas – I’m going there (e.g. the museum, the Eiffel Tower, etc.)
Le bureau est là-bas – The office is there (e.g. in Montmartre, in Montreal, next to Notre Dame, etc.)
You might also remember Là from session 6 of level 1, which also expresses a specific location and can also be translated as There. But contrary to Là-bas it refers to something that is close to you. So if you are pointing at something and you want to make it clear that it's very close, you can say:
C'est là - It's there
And if you want to make it clear that it's a little further away, on the other side of the room or the street, for example, you'd say:
C'est là-bas - It's there
Par là, on the other hand, has a quite different meaning. It can be translated as Around or Over there and its opposite is Par ici – Around/Over here. You use it when you don't know the precise location:
Les toilettes sont par là – The restrooms are around here
And to give directions in the sense of This/That way:
Les toilettes sont par là – The toilettes are over there (this way)
So, it's specific location: Là-bas, vague location and directions: Par là. I hope this helps.
Nov 08, 2015 - 02:24 PM
So glad I saw this -- I had exactly the same question. I'd only ever learned la-bas in high school and was confused when par la was directly translated as "over there" in session 6 of level 1.