Qu’en est-il de Julien et Sophie?

Question

Qu’en est-il de Julien et Sophie?I don’t understand the structure of this question. I imagine there is an idiom I haven’t seen before. What is en replacing?  What is il referring to? Thanks.

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Hi Heather,
Well spotted as it is an idiomatic expression 'en être de' which means -
where are we at / what about 
which is very used in French.
You could also say -
Qu'est-ce qu'il en est de Julien et Sophie?
 Or 
Qu'est-ce qu'il en est de votre vente ? 
But well spotted!

Cécile Janty-Davies · Answer

Hello Radhika, 
This page with a few examples might help you to use this lovely expression -
https://forum.lefigaro.fr/forum/affich-23828-sens-de-l-expression-qu-en-est-il-de
Bonne Continuation !

Radhika Shanbhag · Answer

I came here to ask the very same question. Interesting explanation. Not to be confused with à propos de or s'agir i suppose?