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It is not about conjugation but grammar. I introduce you in this article 2 pronouns which are very used in everyday life : en and y. You are going to find explanations on how and when to use them. You are going to use them to express the directions, in a variety of French expressions as well. You need to know and how to use them to consolidate your foundation, to reach your French goals, to impress your professor, to have a better understanding of movies, to have more confidence. Do not forget to use all the resources you have to improve : an app,...

The pronoun EN

En general en replace a noun which is preceded by the preposition de. As it repalces something we say that en is a pronoun. It is placed before the verb.

Vous mangez de la salade ? – Oui, j’en mange → Do you eat salad ? - Yes, I eat it
Vous buvez du vin ? – Oui, j’en bois → You drink wine ? - Yes, I drink it
Vous avez des enfants ? – Oui, j’en ai → Do you have kids? - Yes I have

The pronoun en is used when we express quantity.

Il y a trois chaises ? – Oui, il y en a trois → Are there three chairs ? - Yes, there are three
Il y a beaucoup de gens ? – Oui, il y en a beaucoup → Are there a lot of people ? - Yes, there are many
Be aware of the fact that we say il y en a trois, we do not say il y a trois. We say il y en a beaucoup, we do not say il y a beaucoup.

We use the pronoun en with verbs we build with the preposition de.

Vous parlez de votre travail ? – Oui, j‘en parle souvent → Are you talking about your work? - Yes, I often talk about it
Vous rêvez de votre famille ? – Oui, j’en rêve → Do you dream of your family ? - Yes, I dream about it
Vous faites de la danse ? – Oui, j’en fais → Do you dance? - Yes I do

Excercises to practice

Write your answer in the comments and I will tell you if it is ok or not, and I will give you the correction.

Instruction : build up phrases with the pronoun en
Vous mangez de céréales ? – Oui, j’en mange → Do you eat cereal ? - Yes, I eat it
Vous buvez du thé ? – Oui, ..................... → Do you drink tea ? – Yes I drink it
Vous mettez du lait ? – Oui, ................... → Do you put milk ? – Yes, I put some of it
Vous écoutez du jazz ? – Oui, ................ → Do you listen to jazz music ? – Yes, I listen to it
Vous faites de la gymnastique ? – Oui, ............ → Do you do gymnastics ? – Yes, I do   

Instruction : answer to the questions with en
Katia mange de la salade ? – Oui, elle en mange → Does Katia eat salad ? - Yes, she eats it
Ahmed mange du fromage ? – Oui, ................... → Does Ahmed eat cheese ? – Yes, He eats it
Florence et Inès mangent des légumes ? – Oui, .............. → Do they eat vegetables ? – Yes, the eat them
Vincent achète du pain ? – Oui, ....................... → Does Vincent buy bread ? – Yes, he buys it
Anna achète de la glace ? – Oui, ..................... → Does Anna buy ice ? – Yes, she buys it
Les enfants achètent des bonbons ? – Oui, ..................... → Do the children buy candies ? – Yes, the buy them

The pronoun Y

The pronoun y is used to avoid repeating a place noun.

Je vais à la gare. J’y vais en taxi → I am going to the train station. I am going by taxi
Je vais en Espagne. J’y vais en avion → I am going to Spain. I am going by plane
Je suis chez moi. J’y suis jusqu’à six heures → I am at home. I am there until six o'clock
J’habite dans cette rue. J’y habite depuis deux mois → I live on this street. I have been living there for two months

The pronoun y replace à + a noun of a thing

Je pense à mon pays. J’y pense souvent → I am thinking of my country. I often think about it
Elle croit à l’astrologie. Elle y croit → She believes in astrology. She believes in it

Be aware of the fact that we say J’y vais, we do not say Je vais.
We say On y va, we do not say On va.

Excercises to practice

Write your answer in the comments and I will tell you if it is ok or not, and I will give you the correction.

Instruction : answer to the questions according to the pattern
Vous allez à la montage en été ou en hiver ? – J’y vais en été
(Do you go to mountains in summer or in winter? - I go there in summer)
Vous allez à la piscine le samedi ou le jeudi ? - ..........................................................
(Do you go to the pool on Saturday or on Thursday ? – We go there on Saturday)
Vous allez à la mer en Juillet ou en Août ? - .................................................................
(Do you go to the sea on July or on August ? – We go there on July)
Vous allez au cinéma le Samedi ou le Dimanche ? - ...................................................
(Do you go to the cinema on Saturday or on Sunday ? – We go there on Saturday)
Vous allez au marché le mardi ou le jeudi ? - ..............................................................
(Do you go to the market on Tuesday or on Thursday ? - We go there on Thrusday)

Instruction : transform the sentences according to the pattern
Je vais au bureau en métro – Moi, j’y vais en voiture
(I go to the office by metro - I go there by car)
Je vais à la cantine à midi – Moi, ....................................................................................
(I go to the canteen at noon. I go there at 1 pm)
Je vais à la piscine le mardi - Moi, ................................................................................
(I go to the pool on Tuesday, I go there on Wednesday)
Je reste au bureau jusqu’à cinq heures – Moi, .............................................................
(I stay at the office until 5 pm – I stay there until 6 pm)
Je dîne « chez Lulu » vers sept heures – Moi,  .............................................................
(I have a dinner at « Chez Lulu » around 7 pm – I have a dinner there at 7 pm as well)

Use all the resources you can to learn French. Study different topics : conjugation, grammar, how to express the directions, a variety of French expressions, ... watch movies,... Be your own professor, reach your goals ! Get more confidence, consolidate your foundation with good explanations.

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Thank you for reading this article !
Thomas 😀

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