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The French Pronouns "y" and "en"
- 1. y & en Two pronouns which you cannot do without
- 2. y You may have been taught that y means there.
- 3. y In fact, there is only one of a large number of possible meanings.
- 4. In these examples, y does indeed mean there . Did you see Sylvie there ? Tu y as vu Sylvie? Theyre going to build a hotel there . On va y construire un h担tel. Theres a very good restaurant there . Il y a un tr竪s bon restaurant. Theyre going there this evening. Ils y vont ce soir. She met her future husband there . Elle y a connu son futur mari. I live there . J y habite.
- 5. y But, as you will see, y is a pronoun
- 6. y and the purpose of a pronoun is to replace something.
- 7. y The purpose of y is to replace + something
- 8. y = + T The pronoun y can only be used to refer to inanimate objects, ideas or places. In short, it must refer to Some thing not Some one .
- 9. y = + T Put another way, y can refer to any t hing but a person.
- 10. y = + T So think of it as replacing + a thing ( + T )
- 11. Nous allons Paris demain. In this example, y means there .
- 12. Nous allons Paris demain. In this example, y means there . becomes y
- 13. Nous allons demain. In this example, y means there . y No!
- 14. Nous allons demain. In this example, y means there . y Yes! Pronouns are placed before verbs
- 15. Nous y allons demain. Were going there tomorrow. In this example, y means there .
- 16. Je pensais lexamen. I was thinking about the exam. But in this example, y means something else.
- 17. Je pensais lexamen . But in this example, y means something else. becomes y
- 18. J y pensais. But in this example, y means something else.
- 19. J y pensais. I was thinking about it . But in this example, y means something else.
- 20. Il sint辿resse au sport. He is interested in sport. And in this example, y means something else again.
- 21. Il sint辿resse au sport . And in this example, y means something else again. becomes y
- 22. Il s y int辿resse. And in this example, y means something else again.
- 23. Il s y int辿resse. He is interested in it . And in this example, y means something else again.
- 24. y What does y mean in these examples?
- 25. Je narrive pas m y habituer. (where y = au bruit ) shabituer : to get used to
- 26. I just cant get used to it . ( to the noise )
- 27. Le directeur y r辿pondra. (where y = la lettre )
- 28. The headmaster will answer it . ( the letter )
- 29. Il y r棚ve depuis janvier. (where y = un nouveau t辿l辿phone portable ) r棚ver : to dream about
- 30. Hes been dreaming about it since January. ( about the mobile phone )
- 31. Elle n y croit plus. (where y = lamour ) croire : to believe in
- 32. She no longer believes in it . ( in love )
- 33. Nous y avons assist辿. (where y = au concert ) assister : to be present at
- 34. We were present at it . ( at the concert )
- 35. y Y can also replace en + something
- 36. Mon oncle habite en France . My uncle lives in France.
- 37. Mon oncle y habite. My uncle lives there .
- 38. y In short, y means whatever it needs to mean to make sense!
- 39. en You may have been taught that en means of it or of them.
- 40. en In fact, of it and of them are only two of a range of possible meanings.
- 41. In these examples, en does indeed mean of it/them . We saw a lot of them . On en a vu beaucoup. I keep the best of them . J en garde les meilleurs. He found three of them . Il en a trouv辿 trois. Do you have enough of it ? Tu en as assez? Ive had enough of it . J en ai marre. She is afraid of it . Elle en a peur.
- 42. en But, like y , en is a pronoun
- 43. en and the purpose of a pronoun is to replace something.
- 44. en The purpose of en is to replace de + something
- 45. en = de + T The pronoun en can only be used to refer to inanimate objects, ideas or places. In short, it must refer to Some thing not Some one .
- 46. Put another way, en can refer to any t hing but a person. en = de + T
- 47. So think of it as replacing de + a thing (de + T ) en = de + T
- 48. Jai perdu la moiti辿 de mes CDs. Ive lost half of my CDs. In this example, en means of them .
- 49. Jai perdu la moiti辿 de mes CDs . In this example, en means of them . becomes en
- 50. Jai perdu la moiti辿. In this example, en means of them . en No!
- 51. Jai perdu la moiti辿. In this example, en means of them . en Yes! Pronouns are placed before verbs
- 52. J en ai perdu la moiti辿. Ive lost half of them . In this example, en means of them .
- 53. Nous parlons des 辿lections. Were talking about the elections. But in this example, en means something else.
- 54. Nous parlons des 辿lections . But in this example, en means something else. becomes en
- 55. Nous en parlons. But in this example, en means something else.
- 56. Nous en parlons. Were talking about them . But in this example, en means something else.
- 57. Je ne veux plus de salade. I dont want any more salad. And sometimes, en is not translated at all into English.
- 58. Je ne veux plus de salade . And sometimes, en is not translated at all into English but must not be omitted . becomes en
- 59. Je n en veux plus. And sometimes, en is not translated at all into English but must not be omitted .
- 60. Je n en veux plus. I dont want any more. And sometimes, en is not translated at all into English but must not be omitted .
- 61. en What does en mean in these examples?
- 62. J en ai perdu la clef. (where en = de la salle )
- 63. Ive lost the key to it . ( to the room )
- 64. Il en est lauteur. (where en = du livre )
- 65. Hes the author. ( of the book )
- 66. Nous en avons remarqu辿 un grand nombre. (where en = de papillons )
- 67. We noticed a great many of them . ( a great many butterflies )
- 68. Je vais m en d辿barrasser. (where en = de mes vieilles chaussures ) se d辿barrasser de : to get rid of
- 69. Im going to get rid of them . ( of my old shoes )
- 70. Elle ne s en souvient pas. (where en = de laccident ) se souvenir de : to remember
- 71. She doesnt remember it . ( the accident )
- 72. Il faut en profiter. (where en = de lopportunit辿 ) profiter de : to take advantage of
- 73. You must take advantage of it . ( of the opportunity )
- 74. Je m en suis servi pour me d辿fendre. (where en = du revolver ) se servir de : to use
- 75. I used it to defend myself. ( the revolver )
- 76. Est-ce que tu vas ten charger? (where en = de la situation ) se charger de : to take responsibility for
- 77. Are you going to take responsibility for it ? ( for the situation )
- 78. en In short, en means whatever it needs to mean to make sense!