Look at these sentences with the pronoun en:

Je viens de Paris. - J'en viens aussi !
I come from Paris. - I come from there too!

Que penses-tu de cette exposition ? - J'en pense le plus grand bien !
What do you think of this exhibition? - I think very highly of it.

Je m'occupe de mes problèmes. Je m'en occupe.
I'm dealing with my problems. I'm dealing with them.

-> Note that en can replace plural things too.

Elle a besoin de vacances. Elle en a besoin.
She needs holidays. She needs them.

Notice that en as a pronoun can replace phrases introduced by the preposition de + [thing]/[object]/[location] (but not people), particularly with verbs that require de.
In such cases, you cannot replace the noun alone with a pronoun, you must replace the whole de + [noun] group with en.

ATTENTION:

In the case of de + [people], the preposition de remains and is followed by a stress pronoun (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles) replacing and agreeing with the noun:

Tu te moques de Paul et Daniel. - Non, je ne me moque pas d'eux !
You're mocking Paul and Daniel. - No, I'm not mocking them!

J'ai besoin de ma mère tous les jours. - J'ai besoin d'elle aussi.
I need my mother every day. - I need her too.

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Préposition

Pronom adverbial

Examples and resources

Il se sert de ses outils. - Je m'en sers aussi.
He's using his tools. - I'm using them too.

Tu joues de la trompette. - Tu en joues.
You play trumpet. - You play (it)

J'ai besoin de ma mère tous les jours. - J'ai besoin d'elle aussi.
I need my mother every day. - I need her too.

Je mange de la purée. - J'en mange.
I'm eating mash. - I'm eating some.

Tu te moques de Paul et Daniel. - Non, je ne me moque pas d'eux !
You're mocking Paul and Daniel. - No, I'm not mocking them!

Elle a besoin de vacances. Elle en a besoin.
She needs holidays. She needs them.

Que penses-tu de cette exposition ? - J'en pense le plus grand bien !
What do you think of this exhibition? - I think very highly of it.

Je m'occupe de mes problèmes. Je m'en occupe.
I'm dealing with my problems. I'm dealing with them.

Je viens de Paris. - J'en viens aussi !
I come from Paris. - I come from there too!

J'ai des chocolats. - J'en ai.
I've got chocolates. - I've got some.

Q&A Forum 7 questions, 13 answers

MichelleB2

D'en--how to you it and it is required?

As you don't have a skill relating to d'en, I'm linking this to the skill related to de phrases and en.

I'm guessing that d'en, as I keep hearing it, replaces "des/de + noun" (though I'm still somewhat confused about it). But it is really necessary to use d'en? Couldn't you just use le/la/les (or in some cases, ça/cela). As in "J'aurais mieux fait d'en prendre." could I just say "J'aurais mieux fait les prendre"?? If d'en is required, how do I know when I need to use it as opposed to le/la/les (apart from 'fixed' expressions like "d'en haut")?

Asked 3 weeks ago

Like0Answer1

CécileKwiziq language super starCorrect answer

Hi Michelle,

The 'd'en' is because of the expression -

'faire mieux de' which is always tricky to translate in English.

e.g.

Le jour où je l'ai rencontré , j'aurais mieux fait de me casser une jambe = The day I met him I'd have been better breaking a leg

Tu ferais mieux de le contacter aujourd'hui = You'd be better contacting him today

J'aurais mieux fait d'en prendre = I'd have been better taking some

Vous auriez mieux fait de les emmener avec vous = You'd have been better taking them with you

The pronoun rules are the same as always.

Hoe this helps!

Like03 weeks ago

Michelle asked:View original

D'en--how to you it and it is required?

As you don't have a skill relating to d'en, I'm linking this to the skill related to de phrases and en.

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MárcioA2

Usage « en »

Salut !

Dans ce cas ci-dessous, l'emploi de « en » ( Il n'en faut ) est-il correct ?

Je cherche une guitare usagée. Il n'en faut pas être de haute qualité, mais qu'il soit en bon état. C'est pour apprendre à jouer.

Dans la dernière phrase « C'est pour apprendre à jouer. » est-il possible d'utiliser « en » « Y » ou « la / l' » pour faire mention à la guitare ? Si oui, est-il mieux de l'ajouter selon l'usage normal ?

Merci !

Asked 5 months ago

Like0Answer0

Márcio asked:View original

Usage « en »

Salut !

Dans ce cas ci-dessous, l'emploi de « en » ( Il n'en faut ) est-il correct ?

Je cherche une guitare usagée. Il n'en faut pas être de haute qualité, mais qu'il soit en bon état. C'est pour apprendre à jouer.

Merci !

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MarnieC1

en ...add footnote?

Would it be possibe to add a note addressing the use of “en” in this sentance? “Je voulais en savoir plus de cet artiste ensorcelant.” I understand why “en” replaces but not the underpinning of this structure where it is not referring to a previous subject and where the object is wtitten out. This part of the lesson on “en” is probablt covered in another lesson covering other aspects of the use of “en” but not here....

Asked 7 months ago

Like0Answer3

ChrisC1

"En" in this context can be thought of to stand for "of that", even though it doesn't translate very well like this.

Like07 months ago

MarnieC1

It’s the linguistic underpinning I’m after... not the “translation”. “Je voulais en savoir plus.”. is the meaning. I’d like to know why and when a native speaker would add “de...” after “en” has already been used in same sentence.

Like07 months ago

ChrisC1

I'm afraid you're looking for an explanation where there is none. "Je voulais en savoir plus" is like an idiomatic expression. And French is a highly idiomatic language where rules seem to be there to only to justify the exceptions.

Like07 months ago

Marnie asked:View original

en ...add footnote?

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MarnieC1

il s’en occupe tout de suite

i answered the quizz with “of it” and “of him”. but “of him” was wrong , yet “of them” was correct

what is the difference between ”take care of him” vs “take care of them”. one is right, one is wrong but they both relate to ‘a person/people’ not things.

he takes care of him right away.

he takes care of them right away

he takes care of it right away

Asked 9 months ago

Like0Answer5

ChrisC1

En can't be used as a pronoun to replace people. See if these examples help:

Luc s'occupe de Jean. -- Luc s'occupe de lui. (NOT: Luc s'en occupe.)

Luc s'occupe des fleurs. -- Luc s'en occupe. Luc takes care of the flowers -- Luc takes care of them

In the last sentence, en replaces des fleurs and "them" refers to an object, not a person. If you were taking of persons, you would need a different construction.

Luc s'occupe de mes parents. -- Luc s'occupe d'eux.

Hope that helps.

Like09 months ago

MarnieC1

but in this quizz, the 2 correct answers were “he takes care of it” AND “he takes care of THEM”. Given your reasoning “he takes care of THEM” is also incorrect yetbit was added to the correct answer and my “he takes care of him” was marked wrong. Isn’t “He Takes care of THEM” just as wrong as “he takes care of HIM”?

Like09 months ago

ChrisC1

If you read my previous post again, I did include an example using "them" referring to flowers. Since flowers aren't people, the use of "en" is OK.

Il s'occupe de ses grand-parents. Il s'occupe d'eux. -- He takes care of them (grand parents)
Il s'occupe des fleurs. Il s'en occupe. -- He takes care of them (the flowers).

Like09 months ago

MarnieC1

i did read your previous post. your example does not have any relevance to the example in the quizz which didnt specify whether or not ‘en’ was supposed to rever to inanimate objects or humans. It’s the specific quizz question that i am querying.

Like09 months ago

ChrisC1

Well "en" cannot refer to persons, therefore there's no need to specify whether it refers to objects or persons. Since "them" in English can refer to objects, it is a possible translation for the sentence in question. Just think it through.

Like09 months ago

Marnie asked:View original

il s’en occupe tout de suite

i answered the quizz with “of it” and “of him”. but “of him” was wrong , yet “of them” was correct

what is the difference between ”take care of him” vs “take care of them”. one is right, one is wrong but they both relate to ‘a person/people’ not things.

he takes care of him right away.

he takes care of them right away

he takes care of it right away

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AnnC1

In the writing challenge, the translation from english was that person dreamed of going to Paris, I translated this as y rêver thinking rêver à aller

but the answer was en rêver. Please explain why

Asked 1 year ago

Like0Answer1

AurélieKwiziq language super starCorrect answer

Bonjour Ann !

This one is quite a tricky case!

The fact is that rêver à + [quelque chose] is very rarely used, and always in a figurative context, something you're considering:

rêver à de futures vacances...
but
rêver de toi

For every other case, it would be rêver de.

And to say to dream of [doing something], you'll always use rêver de [infinitif]:

Je rêve de faire le tour du monde.
Il rêvait d'aller en Espagne.

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Like01 year ago

Ann asked:View original

In the writing challenge, the translation from english was that person dreamed of going to Paris, I translated this as y rêver thinking rêver à aller

but the answer was en rêver. Please explain why

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AndyC1

Ce matin, elle en a trouvé une sous le sèche-cheveux

Hello. In the Week 29 B1 writing test, the above sentence appears as a translation for 'This morning, she found one under the hairdryer.' To begin with I was confused by the phrase appearing to have two objects. But after thinking about it could this sentence be read as: 'This morning, she found one (of them) under the hairdryer.' ~Thanks for your help

Asked 2 years ago

Like0Answer1

AurélieKwiziq language super star

Bonjour Andy ! Yes, that's exactly how this sentence works literally. In French, you need to mention the thing that the quantity refers to, otherwise something is missing (She found one what?). See the related lesson: En with quantities = Of them (adverbial pronoun) I hope that's helpful! Bonne Année !

Like22 years ago

Andy asked:View original

Ce matin, elle en a trouvé une sous le sèche-cheveux

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JohnC1

Question from the Writing Challenge that references "en"

This lesson is referenced in the Week 1, B1 writing challenge but it does not contain information on the use of "en" in the part where the speaker says he will see places in Paris "that I've only seen in photos." The answer uses "que je n'ai vues qu'en photos." Why is en needed there? Thanks.

Asked 3 years ago

Like0Answer2

GruffKwiziq language super star

Salut John ! In this case, "en" is just the preposition meaning "in", not the adverbial pronoun "en". We have "ne" + "que" = "only" and the "que" has contracted with "en" which is possibly what confused you? "en photo" means "in photographic form" / "in photos". Hope that helps!

Like23 years ago

PavlinaB1

What is the diffeence between en photo and sur le photo? Merci

Like01 year ago

John asked:View original