Does «en» always have to replace «de»?

Rike A.C1Kwiziq community member

Does «en» always have to replace «de»?

I saw this sentence online «Mon père est médecin et je vais en être un aussi.»

I'm confused because there is no «de» to replace?

Asked 3 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Rike, 

The Kwiziq lesson you are looking for is the following one -

En with quantities = Of them (adverbial pronoun)

Hope this helps! 

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Rike,

I'm thinking  "je vais en être un aussi"  --> I'm going to be one (en) OF THEM also.

Hope this helps?

Jim

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Jim is correct: sometimes the "de" which is replaced by "en" isn't literally in the sentence but implied.

Tu aimes le café? - Oui, j'en bois trop.
Do you like coffee? - Yes, I drink too much of it.

Rike A. asked:

Does «en» always have to replace «de»?

I saw this sentence online «Mon père est médecin et je vais en être un aussi.»

I'm confused because there is no «de» to replace?

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