How to use the pronouns 'y' and 'en'

Tricky they might be, but once you understand what they replace, they become easy shortcuts to use to make your French sound natural and fluid.

These pronouns are used to replace part of a sentence to avoid repetition.

Example:

Je vais à la banque (I'm going to the bank) - J’y vais (I'm going there)
Je veux du pain (I want bread) - J’en veux (I want some)

Instead of repeating à la banque or du pain, French uses y and en. The trick is knowing which one to use and when.

How to use 'y' (pronounced e)

The pronoun 'y' replaces a place that has already been mentioned.

Example:

Je vais à Paris (I'm going to Paris) - J'y vais (I'm going), in this case, 'y' refers to the city of Paris.

Elle va souvent dans cette salle de sport ? (Does she often go to this gym?) - Elle y va depuis 2 ans. (She's been going there for the past two years), in this case, 'y' refers to the gym. 

The second function is when 'y' replaces "à + something", like after verbs built with à - penser à (to think about), participer à, (to attend something/to participate in something), croire à (to believe in something), accéder à (access something), s'habituer à (to get used to something)

Example:

Tu penses à ton travail ? (Are you thinking about work?) - Tu y penses ? (Are you thinking about it?), in this case, 'y' replaces "à ton travail".

Tu participes à la réunion? (Are you attending the meeting?) - Tu y participes? (Are you attending it?), in this case, 'y' replaces "à la réunion" 

Important: When the object is a person, you cannot use 'y'. Instead, you must use "à + a stressed pronoun" (à lui, à elle, à eux, à elles).

Je pense à Julia (I'm thinking about Julia) - Je pense à elle (I’m thinking about her)

You cannot say: J’y pense (because y is not used for people), nor can you say: je lui pense

This is because the verb penser à does not take indirect object pronouns like lui or leur (unlike verbs such as parler à, where you can say je lui parle). 

So remember: use 'y' for things and "à + elle/lui/eux/elles" for people

French grammar tip: Figuring out direct and indirect objects

How to use 'en' (pronounced anh)

“En” replaces things introduced by de (du, de la, des) and quantities. 

Example with things introduced by de (du, de la, des):

Je mange du chocolat (I'm eating chocolate) - J’en mange (I'm eating some), here 'en' replaces "du chocolat"

Je parle de ce film (I'm talking about this movie) - J’en parle (I’m talking about it), here 'en' replaces "de ce film"

Example with quantities:

Il a des enfants ? (Does he have children) - Il en a deux. (He has two), here 'en' replaces "des enfants" and the number stays after the verb)

Tu veux trois pommes ? (Do you want three apples?) - Tu en veux trois ? (Do you want three?), here 'en' replaces "des pommes"

As with 'y', avoid using 'en' to refer to a person.

Example:

Tu parles de Marie ? (Are you talking about Marie?) - Je parle d'elle (I'm talking about her) and not "j'en parle".

Tip to remember: As soon as you answer a question with "du / de la / des", the pronoun will be 'en'.  

Word order 

Both 'y' and 'en' usually come before the verb:

J’y vais (I'm going)

J’en prends (I'll take some)

In negative sentences:

Je n’y vais pas (I'm not going)

Je n’en veux pas (I dont' want any)

With commands however, they often come after:

Vas-y ! (Go ahead!)

Prends-en ! (Take some!)

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