Pronominal
Adverbs
(Adverbes Pronominaux)
In French the adverbs en from
there and y to there may be
used as indirect object pronouns, replacing expressions constructed with
the prepositiions
de
of, from and à
to.
En
Origin: OF ent <=
L
inde from that place, from that time.
The adverbial pronoun en replace
the object of the preposition
de, including expressions of quantity.
-
As-tu besoin d'argent? Do
you need some money? => En as-tu besoin? Do
you need?
-
J'ai quatre livres. I
have four books. => J'en ai quatre. I
have four (of them).
-
J'ai trois chiens. I
have three dogs. => J'en ai trois. = I have three (of them).
In the above examples,
en
must be present in French, even though the usage 'of them' is not necessary
in English.
-
Elle parle tout le temps de son travail.
=> Elle en parle tout le temps. She speaks
all the time of it.
-
Nous avons assez de lecture pour ce
soir. => Nous en avons assez pour ce soir. We
have enough (of them) for this night.
-
Elle vient de Barcelone. => Elle
en
vient. She comes from there.
-
J'ai besoin de patience. => J'en
ai besoin. I need (some of) that.
The usage of en for persons is considered
old fashioned; in this case the contemporary speakers prefer the disjunctive
pronoun:
-
(old) Il aime ses enfants, et il en
est aimé. He loves his children and is loved by them.
-
(mod.) Elle parle de ses frères.
She speaks of her brothers. => Elle parle
d'eux.
She speaks of them.
The pronominal adverb en is not to be confused
with the preposition en
in, at.
-
Elle habite en Belgique. She
lives in Belgium.
Y
Origin: L hic in
this place, here.
The adverbial pronoun y replace
the object of the preposition
à + places and things:
-
On va à Paris. => On y
va. We are going there.
-
Je vais à la bibliothèque.
=> J'y vais. I am going there.
-
On devrait obéir à la loi.
=> On devrait y obéir. One should obey
it.
The pronoun y can also replace the
object of a number of prepositions indicating placement in space or movement:
-
Le livre est sur la table. => Le livre
y est.
-
Elle part en France. => Elle
y
va.
The
Pronouns y and en
The pronouns y and en have
a special place in the French language and are not easily defined in all
cases.
The pronoun en can have many meanings
and is, of sorts, an indirect object pronoun. It is used in cases where
the implied pronoun is one other than à. Often, it is translated
as about + person / thing. It is usually the
pronoun replacement for de + object. Note
the following examples:
-
Mon père et moi, nous parlions de mon
travail. = Mon père et moi, nous en parlions.
-
Je me défie de cette voiture. = Je
m'en défie.
-
Je ne suis pas sûr de la situation.
= Je n'en suis pas sûr.
In some cases, use of en is optional
and can be replaced by using the correct preposition with the disjunctive
pronoun. Usually, the disjunctive pronouns are used when the object being
replaced is a person or persons:
-
Ils parlaient de leur amie. = Ils parlaient
d'elle.
-
Nous ne savons rien de ces garçons.
= Nous ne savons rien d'eux.
Generally speaking, the pronoun y is
a direct object pronoun most often referring back to a place. Usually,
the best translation is there. Take the following
examples:
-
Nous y allons. = We
are going there.
-
Vous y êtes. = You
are there. (Often used in question form)
-
J'y suis arrivé. = I
have arrived.
The pronoun y can be used in conjuction
with other direct object pronouns and reflexive pronouns. It will follow
all direct object pronouns.
See more on the usage of the
disjunctive
pronouns.
Place
in the sentence
In "normal" affirmative sentences, word
order when there are both direct and indirect objects in a sentence is
as follows:
me
te
vous
nous
|
le
la
les
|
lui
leur
|
y
|
en
|
-
Il a rendu les livres à la bibliothèque.
=> Il les y a rendus.
He brought them back there.
-
Il nous en donne. He
gives some to us.
-
Je l'y ai envoyée pour le leur demander.
I sent her there to ask them (it).
See also Pronouns
order.
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