The French pronouns y and en: when to use each one
By Thierry Gustin
Published
Updated
4 min read
Contents
The pronouns y and en are among the shortest words in French and among the trickiest for English speakers, because English has no exact equivalent. "There", "of it" or "some" sometimes cover the same ground, but English can usually drop them, while French cannot. Yet French speakers use these pronouns in almost every conversation: mastering them makes your French sound more natural straight away.
What does the pronoun y replace?
Y replaces:
- A place introduced by à, en, dans, chez, sur…: Tu vas à Paris ? — Oui, j'y vais demain. (Yes, I am going there tomorrow.)
- A complement introduced by à that is not a person: Tu penses à ton examen ? — Oui, j'y pense tout le temps. (Yes, I think about it all the time.)
Very common expressions with y: il y a (there is / there are), ça y est (that's it, done), j'y vais (I'm off, I'm going), vas-y (go on, go ahead), on y va (let's go).
What does the pronoun en replace?
En replaces:
- A complement introduced by de: Tu parles de ton voyage ? — Oui, j'en parle souvent. (Yes, I often talk about it.)
- A place you come from, with de: Tu viens de la gare ? — Oui, j'en viens. (Yes, I have just come from there.)
- A quantity or a partitive (du, de la, des, un, deux, beaucoup de…): Tu as des enfants ? — Oui, j'en ai deux. (Yes, I have two.) Tu veux du café ? — Oui, j'en veux bien. (Yes, I'd love some.)
With quantities, the number or expression of quantity stays at the end: J'en ai trois (I have three), Il en a beaucoup (he has lots), Je n'en ai pas (I don't have any).
| Question | Answer with y / en | What it replaces |
|---|---|---|
| Tu vas au cinéma ? | Oui, j'y vais. | place (à) |
| Tu réfléchis à ma proposition ? | Oui, j'y réfléchis. | complement with à |
| Tu as besoin de ton ordinateur ? | Oui, j'en ai besoin. | complement with de |
| Tu bois du thé ? | Non, je n'en bois pas. | partitive |
| Combien de livres as-tu ? | J'en ai cinq. | quantity |
Where do y and en go?
- Before the conjugated verb: J'y vais. J'en veux.
- Before the auxiliary in compound tenses: J'y suis allé. J'en ai mangé.
- Before the infinitive if there is one: Je vais y aller. Je veux en acheter.
- After the verb in the affirmative imperative, with a hyphen: Vas-y ! Prends-en ! (note that vas gets its s back before y).
- In the negative, ne… pas goes around the pronoun and the verb: Je n'y vais pas. Je n'en veux pas.
What if it is a person?
With people, y and en are normally replaced by a stressed pronoun:
- Je pense à Marie → Je pense à elle (I am thinking about her), not ✗ j'y pense.
- Je parle de mon frère → Je parle de lui (I am talking about him), not ✗ j'en parle in careful French.
But with verbs that take à + person, such as parler à, téléphoner à, écrire à, you use the indirect object pronoun: Je lui parle (I am talking to him / her). I explain this in French object pronouns.
Typical mistakes English speakers make
- Leaving out the pronoun, as English does: "Do you have any brothers? Yes, I have two." ✗ Oui, j'ai deux. → ✓ Oui, j'en ai deux.
- Using le instead of en with a quantity: ✗ Je le veux un → ✓ J'en veux un. (I want one.)
- Forgetting y with aller: ✗ Je vais demain (in reply to "Are you going to Paris?") → ✓ J'y vais demain. Note: in the simple future, y is avoided before irai: J'irai demain.
- Putting it in the wrong place with an infinitive: ✗ J'y vais aller → ✓ Je vais y aller.
A short exercise
Answer using y or en (answers below):
- Tu vas souvent à la plage ? — Oui, ___
- Tu as acheté du pain ? — Oui, ___
- Tu t'intéresses à la politique ? — Non, ___
- Tu reviens de Lyon ? — Oui, ___
Answers: 1. j'y vais souvent · 2. j'en ai acheté · 3. je ne m'y intéresse pas · 4. j'en reviens.
If you want to check whether a verb takes à or de, dictionaries such as Le Robert show how each verb is constructed, with examples.
Frequently asked questions
What does the "y" in "il y a" mean?
Il y a means "there is" or "there are": Il y a un problème. (There is a problem.) In the past it is il y avait (there was / there were) or il y a eu (there was, as a one-off event), and in the future il y aura (there will be).
Can en be used for people?
In spoken French sometimes, but the correct form is the stressed pronoun: Je parle de lui. With quantities it is perfectly normal: Des amis ? J'en ai beaucoup. (Friends? I have lots.)
Where does en go in the passé composé?
Before the auxiliary: J'en ai mangé. (I ate some.) The past participle does not agree with en.
What order do they go in when they appear together?
Always y before en: Il y en a (there are some).
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