FlexiLingoIn one line
ystands in for anything introduced byà, andenfor anything introduced bydeor by a quantity.
The table
| Pronoun | Replaces | Example |
|---|---|---|
y /i/ | à /a/ + a thing | Je pense à mon travail /ʒə pɑ̃s a mɔ̃ tʁa.vaj/ → J'y pense. /ʒi pɑ̃s/ |
y /i/ | a place | Je vais à Paris /ʒə vɛ.z‿a pa.ʁi/ → J'y vais. /ʒi vɛ/ |
en /ɑ̃/ | de /də/ + a thing | Je parle de ce film /ʒə paʁl də sə film/ → J'en parle. /ʒɑ̃ paʁl/ |
en /ɑ̃/ | a quantity | J'ai deux frères /ʒe dø fʁɛʁ/ → J'en ai deux. /ʒɑ̃.n‿e dø/ |
en /ɑ̃/ | du /dy//de la /də la//des /de/ | Je bois du café /ʒə bwa dy ka.fe/ → J'en bois. /ʒɑ̃ bwa/ |
en /ɑ̃/ | origin | Je viens de Lyon /ʒə vjɛ̃ də ljɔ̃/ → J'en viens. /ʒɑ̃ vjɛ̃/ |
Both, like every other pronoun, come before the verb.
English has nothing that corresponds to these, which is why they get left out. English either repeats the noun ("I'm thinking about work") or drops the phrase entirely ("I have three", "I've got some"). French does neither: it puts
yorenin and keeps them there.J'en ai trois— literally "I of-them have three" — is not optional;J'ai troisis not a sentence.
y — two jobs
1. Standing in for a place
Any preposition of place, not just à:
Je vais à la banque. /ʒə vɛ.z‿a la bɑ̃k/ | J'y vais. /ʒi vɛ/ |
Il habite en France. /il a.bi.t‿ɑ̃ fʁɑ̃s/ | Il y habite. /il i a.bit/ |
Le livre est sur la table. /lə li.vʁ‿ɛ syʁ la tabl/ | Le livre y est. /lə livʁ i ɛ/ |
Je travaille dans ce bureau. /ʒə tʁa.vaj dɑ̃ sə by.ʁo/ | J'y travaille. /ʒi tʁa.vaj/ |
2. Standing in for à + a thing (not a person)
Je pense à mes examens. /ʒə pɑ̃s a me.z‿ɛɡ.za.mɛ̃/ | J'y pense. /ʒi pɑ̃s/ |
Je réponds à la question. /ʒə ʁe.pɔ̃ a la kɛs.tjɔ̃/ | J'y réponds. /ʒi ʁe.pɔ̃/ |
Il s'intéresse à la musique. /il sɛ̃.te.ʁɛs a la my.zik/ | Il s'y intéresse. /il si ɛ̃.te.ʁɛs/ |
The
y/luiboundary: if what followsàis a person →lui/leur. If it is a thing →y.
Je pense à Marie→Je pense à elle·Je pense à mon travail→J'y pense
en — three jobs
1. Standing in for de + a thing
Je parle de ce problème. /ʒə paʁl də sə pʁɔ.blɛm/ | J'en parle. /ʒɑ̃ paʁl/ |
J'ai besoin d'aide. /ʒe bə.zwɛ̃ dɛd/ | J'en ai besoin. /ʒɑ̃.n‿e bə.zwɛ̃/ |
Il est content de son travail. /il ɛ kɔ̃.tɑ̃ də sɔ̃ tʁa.vaj/ | Il en est content. /il ɑ̃.n‿ɛ kɔ̃.tɑ̃/ |
2. Standing in for an uncountable or indefinite noun
Je bois du café. /ʒə bwa dy ka.fe/ | J'en bois. /ʒɑ̃ bwa/ |
Elle mange de la salade. /ɛl mɑ̃ʒ də la sa.lad/ | Elle en mange. /ɛl ɑ̃ mɑ̃ʒ/ |
J'achète des pommes. /ʒa.ʃɛt de pɔm/ | J'en achète. /ʒɑ̃.n‿a.ʃɛt/ |
3. With a quantity — and the quantity stays
This is the important point: when a number or a quantity is in the sentence, en appears and the number is repeated:
J'ai trois frères. /ʒe tʁwa fʁɛʁ/ | J'en ai trois. /ʒɑ̃.n‿e tʁwa/ |
Je veux un café. /ʒə vø.z‿œ̃ ka.fe/ | J'en veux un. /ʒɑ̃ vø.z‿œ̃/ |
Il a beaucoup d'amis. /il a bo.ku da.mi/ | Il en a beaucoup. /i.l‿ɑ̃.n‿a bo.ku/ |
Elle achète un kilo de riz. /ɛl a.ʃɛ.t‿œ̃ ki.lo də ʁi/ | Elle en achète un kilo. /ɛl ɑ̃.n‿a.ʃɛ.t‿œ̃ ki.lo/ |
English does the exact mirror image and that is why this feels wrong. English keeps the number and deletes everything else — "How many brothers? — I have three." French keeps both:
J'en ai trois.J'en aialone means "I have some"; onlyJ'en ai troismeans "I have three". Think ofenas the "of them" that English also has and simply chooses not to say.
In the negative
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
J'en ai un. /ʒɑ̃.n‿e œ̃/ | Je n'en ai pas. /ʒə nɑ̃.n‿e pa/ — the number drops |
J'y vais. /ʒi vɛ/ | Je n'y vais pas. /ʒə ni vɛ pa/ |
In the past and with two verbs
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
| past | J'y suis allé. J'en ai pris. | /ʒi sɥi.z‿a.le/ · /ʒɑ̃.n‿e pʁi/ |
| two verbs | Je vais y aller. Je veux en acheter. | /ʒə vɛ.z‿i a.le/ · /ʒə vø.z‿ɑ̃.n‿aʃ.te/ |
| positive imperative | Vas-y ! Prends-en ! | /va.zi/ · /pʁɑ̃.z‿ɑ̃/ |
| negative imperative | N'y va pas ! N'en prends pas ! | /ni va pa/ · /nɑ̃ pʁɑ̃ pa/ |
That
sinVas-y: the imperative ofalleris normallyVa, but beforeyandenit takes ansso a liaison can be made —Vas-y/va.zi/. The same applies to-erverbs:Manges-en !
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I'm going there. | J'y vais. | /ʒi vɛ/ |
| I'm thinking about it. | J'y pense. | /ʒi pɑ̃s/ |
| I'm talking about it. | J'en parle. | /ʒɑ̃ paʁl/ |
| I have two. | J'en ai deux. | /ʒɑ̃.n‿e dø/ |
| I haven't got any. | Je n'en ai pas. | /ʒə nɑ̃.n‿e pa/ |
| I need it. | J'en ai besoin. | /ʒɑ̃.n‿e bə.zwɛ̃/ |
| Go on then! | Vas-y ! | /va.zi/ |
| Have some! | Prends-en ! | /pʁɑ̃.z‿ɑ̃/ |
| He has a lot. | Il en a beaucoup. | /i.l‿ɑ̃.n‿a bo.ku/ |
| I went there. | J'y suis allé. | /ʒi sɥi.z‿a.le/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
J'en ai. meaning "I have three" | J'en ai trois. | The quantity is repeated with en |
Je y vais. | J'y vais. | je elides before y |
J'y pense about a person | Je pense à lui. | y is not used for people |
Va-y ! | Vas-y ! | That s is there for the liaison |
Je en veux. | J'en veux. | Elision is compulsory |
Why two such small words do so much work
both of them were adverbs of place
y comes from Latin ibi, "there", and en from inde, "from there". So they began as a symmetrical pair: one destination, one origin.
Then they expanded to cover anything introduced by the matching preposition — because à marks both a physical destination and a figurative one (penser à), and de marks both a physical origin and a topic (parler de).
Italian has exactly the same two: ci and ne. Spanish lost them, and now has to repeat the full prepositional phrase instead.
English lost them too, and the fossils are still around. Thereof, therein, thereto, thence, hereof — these are precisely the y/en idea, and they survive only in contracts and old texts. "Half thereof" is la moitié … en. English replaced them with "of it" and "there", then started dropping those as well.
The practical point: if you are stuck between y and en, look at the preposition the verb takes, not at the meaning. penser à → y · parler de → en. That is all it is.