RapideFrench.com
En means of it, of them, some or any. Examples:
Sometimes we don't use the of in English. For example J'en ai besoin translates directly as I have need of it, but we would normally say I need it. |
y generally means there Examples:
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Note that en and y go before the verb (as you can see in all 4 examples above) except in affirmative commands where it goes after with a hyphen e.g. Restes‐y! (Stay there!). However this doesn't apply to the negative i.e. N'y reste pas! (Don't stay there!) |
y is a pronoun which replaces a noun introduced by à or au or dans e.g. je joue au football (I play football) j'y joue (I play it).
en is a pronoun which replaces a noun introduced by du, de la or des e.g. je joue du piano (I play piano) j'en joue (I play it).
Key notes about y and en: