uses
En is a pronoun that typically replaces de + a noun;
this includes nouns introduced by partitive or indefinite determiners (de,
du, de l', de la, des).
En may be translated as 'some', 'any', or 'not any'.
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| Tammy, Edouard et Tex sont à table. |
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Tammy, Edouard and Tex are eating. |
| Tammy: Edouard, tu veux de la soupe? |
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Tammy: Edouard, do you want some soup? |
| Edouard: Oui, merci. Elle est délicieuse. |
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Edouard: Yes, thank you. It is delicious. |
| Tex: Il y a du vin? |
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Tex: Is there any wine? |
| Tammy: Oui il y en a. Tu en veux? |
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Tammy: Yes, there is some. Would you like some? |
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In a similar fashion, en replaces a noun introduced by a number or an expression of quantity.
Notice that the equivalent of en is not always expressed in English, although en must still be used in the French sentence:
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| Tammy: Edouard, tu as assez de pain? |
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Tammy: Edouard, do you have enough bread? |
| Edouard: Oui, merci, j'en ai assez. |
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Edouard: Yes, thank you, I have enough (of it). |
| Tammy: Tex, tu veux un peu de pain? |
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Tammy: Tex, do you want a little bread? |
| Tex: Non, merci, je n'en veux pas. J'en ai encore une tranche. |
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Tex: No, thank you, I do not want any. I still have a slice (of it). |
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En also replaces expressions introduced by the preposition de with the following verbs:
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| s'occuper de, to deal with |
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| parler de, to speak of |
| remercier de, to thank for |
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| revenir de, to return from |
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| venir de, to come from |
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| Tammy: Alors Edouard, comment s'est passée ton interview au restaurant? |
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Tammy: So Edouard, how did your interview at the restaurant go? |
| Edouard: J'en reviens tout juste! C'était dégoûtant. |
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Edouard: I've just returned from it! It was disgusting. |
| Tammy: Tu veux en parler? |
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Tammy: Do you want to talk about it? |
| Edouard: Tu sais bien que j'ai envie de gagner plus d'argent, j'en ai vraiment besoin, mais servir du barbecue! Jamais! Edouard ne travaillera jamais dans un restaurant qui s'appelle le Bon Barbecue! |
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Edouard: You know that I want to earn more money. I really need some (money), but serve barbecue! Never! Edouard will never work in a restaurant named Good Barbecue! |
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Note that a disjunctive pronoun is used with these verbs to replace expressions when the object of the prepostion de is a person rather than a thing.
placement
Placement of en is the same as direct and indirect pronoun objects.
En precedes the verb it refers to, except in the affirmative imperative.
In compound tenses (such as the passé composé), it precedes the auxiliary verb.
Note that there is no agreement between en and the past participle,
since en does not replace a direct object.
When en is used with il y a ('there is, there are'),
it comes between y and a:
Du pain sur la table? Il y en a (Some bread on the table? There is some there.)
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| Tex: De nouveaux poèmes? Ne m'en parle pas! |
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Tex: Some new poems? Don't talk to me about them. |
| Editeur: Mais si, parlons-en. |
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Editor: But yes, let's talk about them. |
| Tex: Je n'en ai pas écrit depuis longtemps et je ne vais plus en écrire. Ma muse m'a quitté et je n'ai plus d'idées. |
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Tex: I haven't written any for a long time and I'm not going to write any more. My muse has left me and I don't have any more ideas. |
| Editeur: Mais si tu en as. Elles sont bizarres, tes idées, mais tu en as beaucoup quand même. |
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Editor: But yes, you have some (ideas). Your ideas are strange, but you have a lot of them nevertheless. |
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