Know Y vs En in French in 10 minutes
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- What’s the difference between these tricky French pronouns? Find out once and for all...
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French pronouns can be weird, you know? The French pronouns “Y” and “En” almost mean the same thing - but you can’t actually use them synonymously!
So, what’s the difference between y and en in French? How do they work? How do you know which one to use? Why do we say both “Je m’en vais” and “J’y vais”? Let’s find out, in today’s lesson!
Take care and stay safe.
😘 from Grenoble, France.
Géraldine
My high school French teacher, Mrs. Reed, had a wicked sense of humor. She had us practice out loud as a group, the sounds y and en. Y, en, y, en, y, en. We sounded like a group of braying donkeys! Best day ever! She made learning so fun!
Making French fun for teenagers 101 by Mrs. Reed
Mine did the same thing! Madame Williams :)
Those are the best kind of teachers!
Ha ! Ha ! Ha!
It’s an easy trick to remember what comes first: y before en. Make sound like a donkey 😁
J’adore vraiment tes leçons , je suis français et me rend compte de la complexité de notre langue lorsqu’on n’est pas natif . Bravo !
Même pour nous natif c’est très compliqué quand même, on est beaucoup à ne pas la maîtriser correctement
S'en aller is basically irse in Spanish, je m'en vais d'ici, yo me voy de aquí, that has helped a lot! It's also like ir embora in Portuguese.
This was one of the most frustrating things about studying French when I was in school. You really did help me.
Merci, prof!
that’s exactly what I needed!! merci ✨🤍
Loved it, so nice explanation! Thanks 😊
You got me. I’ll take you with me whenever I’m going to France.
That was great. Did you or can you do a segment on the usage of 'de' and 'du?'
It wont replace a good video but basically : « du » stand for « de+le ». So instead of « j’ai peur de le cheval » (I’m scared of the horse) u will say « j’ai peur du cheval ». However this only works with « le » but not with « la ». For example « méduse » (jellyfish) is feminin so we used « la ». That’s why we wont say « j’ai peur du méduse » (I’m scared of the jellyfish) but « j’ai peur de la méduse ». I hope it helps you 😅
Hi! Good idea, there's more about this on the blog post in the video description
Du = de + le
@@babkebab2659 and those are the basic rules of it. the examples you gave can be directly translated to english, however sometimes « de » et « du » are used in different ways compared to how we would in English. (just a disclaimer i might be wrong here) If you were to talk about having or wanting something in general, and not specifically using « le/la » ou « un/une », you would use « du ». example: « je veux du pain » which is “i want (some) bread.” also i’m pretty sure that you would remove the « le » in negative setences. e.g. « je ne veux pas de pain » which is “i don’t want (some) bread.”
Thank you so much, Geraldine! As en english speaker still learning french y & en were some of the hardest concepts to grasp but this completely cleared it up for me :)
Thank you so much. I've been struggling with y and en but this makes so much sense!
Very good! Enjoyed that, thanks.
Vow, court et excellent exercise. Merci Prof.
Super! I do pronounce along with you at home because it’s so clear and perfect sounding! Merci and all the best!! 😀☀️👍
This was extremely helpful! Thank you very much :)
Super vidéo ! Court et direct
Wonderful job! Thank you very much for your content! We love and appreciate your Channel and it is very useful! It shows that you have a lot of vocation for this and you put a lot of effort and dedication to everything you do, continue with all this good quality that characterizes your Channel so much! Keep it up! ❤🌟👏
Excellent instruction! And good examples and exceptions....Thanks Geraldine!
This video came at such a good time! Merci!
Your videos are fantastic. I have watched many but never commented yet. don't stop!
Bonsoir merci Géraldine
What a great explanation. Thank you.
I was wondering about what separated 'en' and 'y' recently, I guess I got what I asked for! Cheers
Thank you Géraldine, "y & en" était le sujet d'un de mes mémoires (passables) en linguistique ;) Encore une leçon claire de votre part !
You have a lot of great content but I found this particularly good. I've tried to learn this via several different methods and found yours the clearest. Merci!
What a great lesson!
4 out of 6 . The trick ones caught me out. Merci Madame .pour cette leçon .
je n'ai pas bien fait. Your lessons are very good and fun, Merci pour le partage
Merci, j'ai appris cette idée en classe l'autre jour. Votre explication a tellement mieux organisé l'idée!
Awesome lesson! I got three right. That was a wicked trick question, Géraldine! :)
Merci beaucoup. I love your channel.
Quelle belle leçon, Géraldine ! C'est une explication très claire. Cette partie de la grammaire m'a intrigué et maintenant je sens une partie du brouillard se lever. Je vous remercie.
J'aime beaucoup faire les répétitions et essayer les quiz! J'ai raté les trick questions. Active learning keeps me on my toes.
The best explanation of y and en on the internet
C'est fraîche je l'ai grave(très) kiffée! Cette une bonne révision, un véritable bijou, une très bonne récompense pour moi,donc je vous en remercie de tout mon coeur!
Salut et à bientôt
Very useful. Remember any routine is always in simple present in English. I “eat” jam every morning, never “am eating”, which is action in progress at this moment.
Good and useful lesson. Cleared a few things up for me regarding 'y'. I got 4 out of 6...
I've been wondering about "en" and "y" showing up before verbs for a long time, and my French exchange student couldn't explain it at all. I had thought "y" just meant "there", but then I would see things like "J'y pense". Merci mille fois!
Thank u sooo much! !!!💜💜
Merci pour le vidéo. Super! J’ai appris le français à l’école pendant 8 ans et à l’Alliance Française aussi. Je ne le parle très souvent aujourd’hui, donc votre vidéo m’a servi comme une belle révision, des petits détails que j’avais oubliés. 😊
"Je n'en parle"..., pas "je ne le parle" 😉
Yeah! I heard the expression "j'y vais" from a French film when a hard-working mom said to her daughter before going out in the evening for a meeting~😄 Good contents!🍀
Please share the movie title
Merci !
Merci encore une fois.
Please could you do a video on how "je suis passé" and "j'ai passé" can be used?
J'ai oublié "lui", apparemment. :) Mais c'était une belle petite "pilule grammaticale", merci!
Thanks
Excellent video and teacher. I think I'm gonna need a bit more confidence to start using y and en.lol
I love, besides your videos, all the Mexican details you have in the back. Je suis mexicaine. :)
Simplement brillamment expliqué !
M E R C I
Is "Ils parlent á elle." equivalent to "Ils lui parlent."?
Thank you very much, Géraldine, for these great vids! We appreciate your time and efforts! Best.
merci beaucoup
j'appris le français avec video
je comprends
y et en
You are so precious. Thank you
Merci beaucoup! Mais j'y trouve difficile!
4/4 except the trick questions. i guessed elle instead of ils hehe and got the 5th wrong obvi. merci!
Awesome lesson, Géraldine! Y & EN have been a bug up my rear end. I'm I right that in the last exercise one can only use Y or EN as a response to a sentence/question that precedes it immediately? O sea, an Y or EN cannot stand alone?
Oh, Geraldine, may I ask you something directly? Around the 7 minute mark you mentioned the main problem I have: knowing about whether to use à or de with a verb.
I have never had a good answer from a French person on this and it is very frustrating. Could you please do a dedicated video on the topic?
For instance, are there general rules for knowing which to use, or is it basically random? Are there ways to guess, like with masculine or feminine, or do you have to memorise each one?
La préposition qu'on utilise, "à" ou "de", dépend du verbe. Malheureusement, il n'y a pas de règles générales. Chaque verbe fonctionne de sa propre façon.
@@gagapa76 Enfin, une bonne réponse! Alors, je dois mémoriser chaque instance, comme la et le, mais la situation peut me guider parfois?
I have a similar painting behind you, from Mexico?
I never understood why, if "en" replaces "de +", you say "j'en ai marre de ça" or "je m'en vais d'ici". But, French being French, it is what it is 🤣
Because the 'en' in J'en ai marre... means 'of it'/de ça (same de +), the thing you've had enough of.
I guess if you've really had enough, it's worth saying it twice 🤣
@@kornreichj Yes indeed, I hadn't noticed!
J'ai eu 4/6 sur le quiz ! Les questions numéro 4 et 5 étaient très difficile pour moi !
Je me permets une petite correction :
"difficiles*". Après le verbe "être", on accorde aux sujets.
@@gagapa76 Ah oui, merci :)
In the words of a famous French Marshal, "J'y suis, j'y reste!"
Even more fun when using y and en in the same sentence 😃
wait. wouldn't "je pense à Marie" be "je LUI pense"? i was taught that for people and when there is a preposition "à" we would use pronom indirect "lui" and not a pronom tonique.. or is it ok to use both?
Je pense à Marie - Only "J'y pense" is correct.
Bonjour
8:12 Doesn't the verb "aller" has to have "s'en" before it, as in "Il s'en va" ?
Bonjour,
Not systematically. It would work not to have "s'en" in this example.
Merci et belle journée,
Fabien
Comme Une Française Team
"nous y voilà" - une phrase que j'ai entendu dans 'Demon Slayer - train d'infini'.
C'est dificile
In the 3rd question can this be shortened to 't'en veux'?
Yes, but it is familiar. The most correct form is En veux-tu? Tu en veux? is acceptable and correct but not like 'Queen's English' applied to French. Please also note that you may not reply oui j'en veux but oui j'en voudrais/voudrais bien s'il te plait. Please also not that merci means no thank you.
"T'en veux" est la forme courante utilisée à l'orale.
Only when you speak !!
Oui , je a elle remerci selon a sa enseigner a nous
Votre phrase n'est pas très claire. Je vous propose comme correction :
"Oui, je vous remercie de nous avoir enseigné cela"
Brilliant lesson. But I have a question! Why is it "Je mange DE la confiture."? But it is "Je mange la pomme." Why cant I say "Je mange la confiture." Thank you so much for your great videos. They are super helpful!!!
sa serait plus "Je mange une pomme" parce que "la" je pense que c'est demonstratif
Bonjour,
Excellent question! Je mange de la confiture in the sense of I eat/take (some) jam. Je mange la confiture is correct, but it implies eating the whole pot for instance. Je mange la pomme (it is a definite article) meaning you eat "the" apple vs. je mange une pomme (it is an indefinite article), meaning you eat "an" apple.
I hope this helps.
Fabien
Comme Une Française Team
Thanks for the video. It gives a good overview and point of departure for further learning.
To sum up there are prepositional phrases that are dependent on a main verb on clause level. They are either introduced by à or de, occasionally by chez. In the case of à-phrases the appropriate pronoun is y, in the case of de-phrases en. But there are "fixed expressions" where a pronoun y or en has become so idiomatized that it is obligatory and can no longer be replaced by a complete phrase. I'm wondering do these fixed expressions have a certain name that can be googled in order to find a list? Often I feel quite confused when I read a book and the first sentence contains one of the above-mentioned pronouns, which makes me uncertain about what it means. Would be nice to have a list of the most common ones.
You give the example ‘Tu veux de la choucroute?’ which becomes Tu en veux? In spoken French, does one say T’en veux?
Sure! It's pretty common by the way.
Same goes for "Tu vas à la mairie ?" → "Tu y vas ?" which can be reduced to "T'y vas ?"
@@anticyclone0321 Only "tu y vas ?" is correct but when we speak, you will often hear "t'y vas ?"
@@claudinelipinski5912 Amongst Gen Z primarily but one must also consider that I live in Île-de-France where you can encounter some... weirdnesses.
@@anticyclone0321 Si vous habitez en France, vous n'aviez pas besoin de poser la question. Vous aviez déjà la réponse.
@@claudinelipinski5912 Eh bien je ne posais pas la question, je faisais la remarque !
Telling the difference when to use en or dans is also difficult sometimes.
Ouaip, j'ai gagné tout sauf l'astuce. Je me renforce!
In question 4 "Ils parlent à leur mère", could the answer also alternatively be "Ils parlent à elle"?
It is also correct but in French we would naturally say "Ils lui parlent", "Ils parlent à elle" sounds a bit weird ^^
@@audreyb19 Only "ils lui parlent" is correct.
I don't get why I should use "lui" in the 4th example! isn't "lui" for masculine and "elle" for feminine? thought I should say "ils parlent d'elles"
Mere is singular. They are plural. They speak with their mother. Because "parler a" (a is a preposition) takes an indirect object, we need an indirect pronoun which is lui (lui replaces both him or her as an indirect pronoun). When we have a direct object we use le or la. Elles is plural but we have only one mere. Hope it helps.
@@malku65 thank you so much! you made it clear ☺️🤍✨
For every lesson, my conclusion is there are no set rules and you have to rely on what sounds right and for that, we have to immerse ourselves in a language. So more TV shows/films with subs is the way to go for me.
Why can't you say Oui, elle a pensé de ca? or would that be a different meaning? 2:15
When using the preposition "de" after "penser" as in : "Penser de quelque chose", you're giving an opinion on the object. For instance : "Que penses-tu du film qu'on a vu hier ?" (What do you think/What is your opinion about the movie we saw yesterday)
Notice that there is no "de" in this sentence. It is actually hidden in the construction "du" which, extended, makes "de le". This contraction is mandatory in French.
"Que penses-tu de le film qu'on a vu hier"
It is more often used in questions.
You can answer by saying
"J'ai trouvé que le film était bien" (casual-ish)
"J'ai pensé du film qu'il était drôle" (formal)
@@anticyclone0321 Thank you very much for the insights, this clears up a lot of things to me. I have two questions though, if you don't mind. So does this basically mean that the difference between "penser" and "trouver" is that pense is transitive whereas trouver is intransitive? Because I've checked on Wiktionary and it says that trouver is exclusively transitive so I got a bit confused. The second question is why did you use "que" instead of "qu'est-ce que", I've seen this a lot, is it a sort of an informal usage? Merci infiniment.
@@SlimBarista I'm gonna try to split my answer in two messages ^^
Both "penser" and "trouver" are transitive-only verbs: you can't say "Je pense", without bringing the question "à quoi tu penses ?". Same goes for "trouver" : "qu'est-ce que tu trouves ?". The difference lies in their respective usage and meanings.
*"Penser"* is a translation of "to think", as its first meaning. You can use it with a variety of conjonctions and prepositions:
- "à", as in "Je pense à elle" (I think about her) or "Pense à nourrir le chien !" (Think about feeding the dog!/Don't forget to) or "Tu penses à ta prochaine vidéo ?" (Do you think about your next video ?).
"à" is often used when you could replace it with "about" in English, when the object you're thinking about does not need a conjugated verb to be fully described.
- When you do need a verb to describe the object you're thinking about, you have to use "que" instead of "à", as in "Je pense que le chien mange des croquettes" (I think that the dog is eating kribble) or "Penses-tu que notre nouveau voisin est gentil ?" (Do you think that our new neighbor is kind?).
As you can probably guess by now, "que" is used when you can replace it with "that".
"Penser que" is already giving a form of opinion : "Je pense que tu as de très bonnes idées" (I think that you have very good ideas). "Penser que" is a casual (not slang) way of expressing your opinion in French, and the most common way of doing so (at least in Paris).
- Ø as in "Je pense partir dans la journée" (I'm thinking of leaving during the day), "Est-ce que tu penses venir au cinéma avec nous ?" (Do you think that you will (be able to) come to the cinema with us?)
You may not need a preposition or conjonction when using an infinitive verb, and talking about a project, a prospect, or to express a doubt.
- and finally "de", which I already covered in my first comment ^^
But as we're getting more into the grammar stuff, let's reconsider "J'ai pensé du film qu'il était drôle" for a minute. You can see in this sentence that "Penser de" is actually deriving from "Penser que" : "J'ai pensé qu'il était drôle". "du film" is a way of precising what that "il" is referring to.
*"Trouver"* can be used as "to find". It also comes with its different uses and conjonctions:
- Ø as in "J'ai trouvé mon nouvel appartement" (I've found my new apartment) or "Trouves-tu ta veste ?" (Do you find/Have you found your jacket?). Idk if you knew about it but I used "nouvel" instead of "nouveau" because the following word starts with a vowel.
You can use that form if you want to refer to "trouver"'s primary meaning.
- "Trouver que" is used to give an opinion, similarly to "penser que", as in "Je trouve que tu cuisines très bien !" (I think that you cook really well!), "Tu la trouves comment ma nouvelle voiture ?" (What do you think about my new car?).
So, in the context of giving an opinion, not much separate "trouver" and penser, except for when to use them:
- Penser que is general and is appropriate for academic and professional papers. It is the one to go for when you have doubts about your statement.
- Trouver que should be used when reflecting on something you've experienced, and when the speaker is sure of their statement. Use "trouver que" when you could replace it with "find that". Trouver que is less formal than penser que.
- You may occasionaly use "croire que" when expressing beliefs, in the same way as "penser que"
So to answer your first question, Trouver and Penser are different by their uses, and they are both transitive verbs no matter their meaning.
If you ever need an intransitive alternative for "penser", you may use "réfléchir" which is a regular 2nd group verb.
@@SlimBarista As far as your second question about "Que" and "Qu'est-ce que" is concerned, there's a short and a really long answer :
The short one : they both mean the same thing and "Qu'est-ce que" is actually the informal one. But as to why they are the same and why "qu'est-ce que" is the informal one is another thing entirely, but it may help you better understand the way questions (and even sentences!) are made in French.
You may have learned that, in order to ask a question in French, you have to switch the verb and the subject around and to connect them with a hyphen. For instance: "Tu vas à la piscine demain." becomes "Vas-tu à la piscine demain ?" (Will you go to the swimming pool tomorrow?).
You can then add an interrogative pronoun in the mix : "Que/Quelle/Lesquels/Lesquelles", "Pourquoi", "Comment", "Où" and "Qui"
I learned in school that this "pronom interrogatif + verbe-sujet" pattern is the formal and right way to ask a question. But we don't do that here...
People have eventually found out you can deduce that a sentence is a question simply based on context, intonation, or because there is a "?" at the end (duh). So in _casual_ situations, we just don't invert subjects and verbs: "Il fera beau demain." becomes "Il fera beau demain ?" (Will the weather be good tomorrow?)
However, keep in mind that this is not a professional way of asking something. It is nonetheless very convenient for non-natives because they simply have to change the intonation to change a sentence from declarative to interrogative.
Then comes "qu'est-ce que"... which is like running while holding a bag of crisps. Because it is a way to do *both* inversion *and* not caring. Let me clarify.
Let me first get rid of the apostrophe even though it should be mandatory : "Que est-ce que". And there, you can already recognise the basic form of a question right here: the subject being "ce", the verb being être, and the first "Que" being used as an interrogative pronoun, just like "What" in English.
So you're essentially asking : "What is _this thing_ that...".
Just like "that" at the end of the preceding translation in English, the second "que" in "Qu'est-ce que" is introducing a dependant clause (which have their own rules in French and the subjonctive may come and say hello at some point but I don't want to get too technical about it right now).
All you need to know is that, in this context, the dependant clause can be formed the same way as a declarative sentence in French, using our good old indicative mode of conjugation: "Qu'est-ce que tu manges ?" (What is _this thing_ that your are eating? -> What are you eating?) or "Qu'est-ce que vous faites ?" (What is _this thing_ that you are doing? -> What are you doing?)
So really, using "qu'est-ce que" is getting rid of the inversion in the first half, doing whatever in the subordinate clause, then putting a "?" at the end to ease our conscience.
You can freely change the first "Que" of "Qu'est-ce que" with any interrogative pronoun such as "Où est-ce que tu vas ?" (Where is _this place_ that you are going to? -> Where are you going?) or "Comment est-ce qu'elle a réussi à entrer ?" (How is _it_ that she managed to get in? -> How did she get in?)
You can even throw it away to imply a Yes/No answer : "Est-ce qu'on arrive bientôt ?" (Is _it_ that we we are arriving soon?)
Let's consider the question: "Pourquoi est-ce que vous trouvez que ma voiture est laide ?" (Why is _it_ that you find that my car is ugly?)
Because of the way dependant clauses work, this is the same as: "Vous trouvez que ma voiture est laide. Pourquoi est-ce ?" (You think that my car is ugly. Why is that?)
So the key here is to understand that the "ce" of "Qu'est-ce que" or "Où est-ce que" actually refers to the implicit pre-sentence I just demonstrated.
With all of that complicated grammar twists and turns, you may ask "Pourquoi est-ce que c'est informel ?". Firstly, because it is a way to get rid of the inversion as said earlier. And secondly and most importantly, because it really only adds one syllable (at most) when speaking:
"Que/ mange/-t-on ?" (kø mɑ̃ʒtɔ̃)(3 syllables)
"Qu'est-ce/ qu'on/ mange ?" (kɛs kɔ̃ mɑ̃ʒ)(3 syllables too)
"Pour/quoi/ t'en/tê/tes/-tu ?" (puʁkwa tɑ̃tɛtə ty)(6 syllables)
"Pour/quoi/ est-ce/ que/ tu/ t'en/têtes ?" (puʁkwa ɛskø ty tɑ̃tɛt)(7 syllables)
However, "est-ce que" has gained so much importance that is has become its own type of question (when it's only mixing two up), and is taught, in French school, as a standard way of asking something depending on the level of formality you want:
Registre familier : Sujet + Verbe (+ Complément) -> "Tu fais quoi ?"
Registre standart : Est-ce que + Sujet (+ Complément) -> "Qu'est-ce que tu fais ?"
Registre soutenu : Verbe + Sujet (+ Complément) -> "Que fais-tu ?"
And there you have it! The two ways of asking something, and the hybrid in the middle pretending to be a _standard_. Just kidding of course, these are all valid. I'm just trying to demonstrate that the second and last one are actually the same.
So to wrap this up, "Que" alone is the right way of asking something. "Qu'est-ce que" and its derivatives were introduced by French speakers to get around the inversion rule. Keep in mind that they are basically the same, and consider noting down the three "registres" if you haven't learned them yet! :D
These are long messages but I hope that you and other people coming by will find them useful and somewhat clearing despite my sometimes quirky English ^^
You will say "elle a pensé à ça" or "elle y a pensé". Il depends on the first sentence.
5 :)
Thank you for your clear teaching. By the way, you are so cute!
"J'y irais revoir ma Normandie"?
What about the expression " Allons-y "?
It doesn't seem to follow those rules
"Allons y" means "allons à cet endroit", that is to say "lets go to this place (we've just talked about)"... but in usual language it just means "let's go !" Or "let's do this !"
On doit mettre toujour "en" et "y" devant le verbe.
Je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais
If you say "Je pense à elle", why isn't it "Ils parlent à elle" instead of "Ils lui parlent"?
Regarding the English translations: “I don’t understand anything to this movie” makes no sense in English. “I don’t understand anything about this movie” (or “in this movie” depending on exactly what you mean). Also: It’s “I eat some jam every morning,” not “I am eating some jam every morning,” and “‘I’ve just come from the bakery,” not, “I come from the bakery.” You come from France, not the bakery, I’m pretty sure.
Why are y and en referred to as pronouns? I thought a pronoun replaced only a noun, not a prepositional phrase. Maybe there’s a different term for it in English?
Why is french so complicated. I am very close to giving up!
5/6. The tricky one got me. la mere => lui. Only French can gender change!
You're wonderful, but speak more french even when explaining!
Veuillez ne pas parler anglais si nous voulons apprendre le français. L’anglais me distrait de ma langue cible.
Attention : "Veuillez" en français à un caractère autoritaire. Il convient plutot d'écrire votre demande de la façon suivante :
"Je vous prie de bien vouloir éviter de parler en anglais pour nous permettre d'apprendre le français."