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En and y: replacing quantities, de, à and places

CEFR A2

What you will learn

  • Replace de-complements and quantities with en while keeping the stated quantity.
  • Use y for places and non-person à-complements, keeping it distinct from lui/leur and stressed pronouns.

The idea

“En” picks up a “de” and “y” picks up an “à”, and both go in front of the verb so that you do not repeat what has already been said.

“En” replaces a group beginning with “de”, and also quantities. “Tu veux du café ? — Oui, j'en veux.” “Il parle de son voyage ? — Il en parle sans arrêt.”

With numbers there is a detail that catches everyone out: the figure stays. “J'ai deux frères” becomes “j'en ai deux”, not “j'ai deux” on its own. French will not leave a bare number standing there.

“Y” replaces a group beginning with “à”, and by extension places. “Je vais à Paris — j'y vais demain.” “Elle pense à son travail — elle y pense tout le temps.” It works the same for “dans”, “sur” and “chez” when they mean a place: “j'y suis allé”.

Both go before the verb governing the complement. In the core patterns in this lesson, y does not replace a person: use lui/leur or a stressed pronoun with à + person, and normally keep a stressed pronoun with de + person.

Uses of en and y

groupe reprispronommodèle
de + choseenJ'en parle.
quantitéen + quantité conservéeJ'en ai deux.
à + choseyJ'y pense.
lieuyJ'y vais.
à + personnelui / leur / pronom toniqueJe lui parle. / Je pense à elle.

How it sounds

  • Tu as des frères ? — Oui, j'en ai deux.The quantity stays; what disappears is “de frères”.
  • Je vais à Paris. — J'y vais demain.“À Paris” is a place, so “y” picks it up.
  • Il parle de son voyage sans arrêt. — Il en parle sans arrêt.“Parler de” takes “de”, so “en” is its pronoun.
  • Je pense à mon frère. — Je pense à lui.With a person you do not use “y”: you use the stressed pronoun.
Three visual cards: two items from a larger set, a route to a city, and a book marked as a need.
The quantity remains; the place and the de-complement are replaced.

Your turn

Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.

  1. Use this image

    Tu as des frères ? — Oui, j'___ ai deux.

    en — Quantity: “en”, and the number stays behind.

  2. Use this image

    Tu vas à Paris ? — Oui, j'___ vais demain.

    y — A place introduced by “à”: “y” is the one.

  3. Use this image

    Elle a besoin de ce livre ? — Oui, elle ___ a besoin.

    en — “Avoir besoin de” takes “de”, so “en” picks it up.

When it doesn't hold

What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.

  • The “y” in “il y a” is fossilised: it replaces nothing, and the expression never changes shape, not even in the plural.Il y a trois livres sur la table.
  • Some verbs carry “en” without it replacing anything: “s'en aller”, “en vouloir à quelqu'un”. They are learnt whole.Je m'en vais.

What your own language pushes you to say

Wrong Tu as des frères ? — Oui, j'ai deux.

Right Tu as des frères ? — Oui, j'en ai deux.

English simply drops it: “Yes, I have two” is a complete answer. So the mistake is a missing word rather than a wrong one, and rereading will not reveal it. A rule that works: if you answer with a number or an amount, there has to be an “en” in front of the verb.

Curriculum alignment and sources

Once it makes sense

Practise this: The pronouns en and yLe, la, les, lui or leur: object and positionImparfait or passé composé: setting, habit and eventFuture and conditional: stems, endings and usesQui, que, où or dont: find the gapThe verb and its preposition: à, de or none