What is the difference between y and en in French?

Y replaces a phrase introduced by à or by a preposition of place: je pense à mon travail becomes j'y pense. En replaces a phrase introduced by de or a quantity: je parle de mon travail becomes j'en parle. The verb's preposition decides which one you need.

Where do y and en go in the sentence?

Immediately before the verb they belong to. In a simple tense that means before the conjugated verb (j'y vais, il en parle); with an infinitive it means before the infinitive (je vais y aller, j'essaie d'en parler). In the affirmative imperative they follow the verb: vas-y, prends-en.

Can y or en refer to a person?

Normally no. People take lui and leur as indirect objects, or a stressed pronoun after the preposition: je pense à lui, je me souviens d'elle. En is occasionally heard for people in casual speech, but the safe pattern keeps y and en for things, ideas and places.

Why do French speakers say il y en a?

Because both pronouns are needed at once: y belongs to the fixed expression il y a, and en stands for the thing being counted. Des places ? Il y en a encore. The order y before en is fixed and never reverses.

Do I have to use en with numbers?

Yes. Combien de frères as-tu ? is answered j'en ai deux, not j'ai deux. The same holds for beaucoup, un peu, plusieurs and aucun: j'en ai beaucoup, je n'en ai aucun.

French grammar · Intermediate

Y and En in French: The Two Adverbial Pronouns Explained

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

French has two adverbial pronouns, y and en, and between them they replace a whole prepositional phrase. Y stands in for something introduced by à, dans, sur or en; en stands in for something introduced by de or by a quantity. Both are tiny, both sit in front of the verb, and both are almost impossible to leave out.

Je vais à Paris demain et j'y reste une semaine.

I'm going to Paris tomorrow and I'm staying there a week.

What it is

Object pronouns replace a noun. Adverbial pronouns replace a noun together with the preposition in front of it, which is why they feel so unfamiliar: English has there for some of the work y does and nothing at all for most of what en does. Learning them is mostly a matter of noticing which preposition a verb takes.

Tu penses à ton examen ? — Oui, j'y pense. Tu parles de ton examen ? — Oui, j'en parle. — Are you thinking about your exam? — Yes, I'm thinking about it. Are you talking about your exam? — Yes, I'm talking about it.

How to spot it

Find the preposition that would appear if you spelled the phrase out. À, dans, sur, chez and en collapse into y. De, du, de la, des and any number or quantity collapse into en.

Tu vas au marché ? — J'y vais. — Are you going to the market? — I'm going there.
Tu veux du gâteau ? — J'en veux. — Do you want some cake? — I'd like some.
Il croit à sa chance. — Il y croit. — He believes in his luck. — He believes in it.
Elle a trois frères. — Elle en a trois. — She has three brothers. — She has three of them.

Both pronouns go directly before the conjugated verb, or before the infinitive they belong to: je vais y aller, j'ai envie d'en parler.

Adverbial Pronouns Quick Reference

What each adverbial pronoun swallows

Pronoun	Replaces	Example
y	à + a thing or an idea	Je pense à l'avenir → j'y pense
y	a place after any preposition	Il est dans le jardin → il y est
y	à + an infinitive clause	Je renonce à partir → j'y renonce
en	de + a thing or an idea	Je parle du film → j'en parle
en	a partitive: du, de la, des	Je bois du thé → j'en bois
en	a number or a quantity	J'ai deux vélos → j'en ai deux
en	de + a place, meaning from there	Je viens de Lyon → j'en viens

Common Adverbial Pronouns Examples in French

The two pronouns at work in ordinary conversation:

Y for Places

Tu es déjà allée en Italie ? — Oui, j'y suis allée deux fois.: Have you been to Italy? — Yes, I've been there twice.
Les clés sont sur la table. — Non, elles n'y sont plus.: The keys are on the table. — No, they're not there any more.
On se retrouve au café ? — D'accord, j'y serai à six heures.: Shall we meet at the café? — All right, I'll be there at six.
Reste ici, je n'y vais pas seul.: Stay here, I'm not going there alone.

Y covers there for every preposition of place, not just à: dans, sur, sous, chez, devant all reduce to y.

Y for Verbs That Take À

Je réfléchis à ta proposition. — J'y réfléchis.: I'm thinking over your suggestion. — I'm thinking it over.
Elle s'habitue à son nouveau travail. — Elle s'y habitue.: She's getting used to her new job. — She's getting used to it.
Tu t'attendais à cette réponse ? — Je m'y attendais.: Were you expecting that answer? — I was expecting it.
Il tient à son indépendance. — Il y tient.: He values his independence. — He values it.

This only works for things and ideas. With a person, the preposition stays and you use a stressed pronoun: je pense à lui.

En for De and Partitives

Tu as besoin d'aide ? — Oui, j'en ai besoin.: Do you need help? — Yes, I need some.
Elle revient de vacances. — Elle en revient.: She's back from holiday. — She's just back from there.
Il mange de la salade. — Il en mange.: He eats salad. — He eats some.
Ne me parle pas de ce projet. — Ne m'en parle pas.: Don't talk to me about that project. — Don't talk to me about it.

Any verb built with de — avoir besoin de, parler de, se souvenir de, avoir envie de — takes en for its complement.

En for Quantities

Combien de sœurs as-tu ? — J'en ai une.: How many sisters do you have? — I have one.
Tu veux des pommes ? — J'en prendrai trois.: Do you want apples? — I'll take three.
Il y a du monde ? — Il y en a beaucoup.: Are there many people? — There are a lot.
Je n'en ai aucune idée.: I haven't the faintest idea.

The number or quantity word stays in the sentence: j'en ai trois, never just j'ai trois. En is what licenses the bare number.

How Y and En Behave in a Sentence

Four habits govern both pronouns, and they explain most of the errors learners make with them.

They Absorb the Preposition Too

An object pronoun replaces only the noun; y and en replace the preposition as well. That is why the sentence looks so short afterwards: je pense à mon travail has five words after je, and j'y pense has one.

Je m'occupe des enfants. — Je m'en occupe.

I look after the children. — I look after them.

Preposition + noun in, one syllable out.

They Sit in Front of the Verb They Belong To

Like all French object pronouns, y and en precede the conjugated verb. When the verb is an infinitive governed by another verb, they attach to the infinitive instead: je veux y aller, not *j'y veux aller.

Tu devrais en profiter.

You should make the most of it.

Before the verb that governs them.

People Keep Their Preposition

Y and en are for things, ideas and places. When the complement is a person, French uses an indirect object pronoun (lui, leur) or a stressed pronoun after the preposition. Je pense à Marie becomes je pense à elle, never j'y pense.

Je me souviens de lui.

I remember him.

Thing → y / en. Person → lui, leur, à lui, de lui.

En Is Compulsory Even When English Says Nothing

English can answer how many with a bare number: three. French cannot leave the verb without its object, so en fills the slot and the number stays: j'en ai trois. The same applies to beaucoup, plusieurs, assez and un.

Des erreurs ? J'en ai fait plusieurs.

Mistakes? I made several.

A bare quantity always needs en.

Common Mistakes with Adverbial Pronouns

Incorrect: J'ai trois. — I have three.

Correct: J'en ai trois. — I have three.

French will not leave avoir without an object. En holds the place of the noun so the number can stand alone, which is why en is obligatory in every answer of this kind.

Incorrect: J'y pense à ma mère. — I'm thinking about my mother.

Correct: Je pense à elle. — I'm thinking about her.

Y cannot refer to a person, and repeating the phrase after the pronoun doubles the complement. With people, penser à keeps its preposition and takes a stressed pronoun.

Incorrect: Je veux y aller pas. — I don't want to go there.

Correct: Je ne veux pas y aller. — I don't want to go there.

The negation wraps the conjugated verb, while y stays attached to the infinitive it belongs to. Y aller behaves as a single block that ne … pas closes around.

Incorrect: J'y ai besoin. — I need it.

Correct: J'en ai besoin. — I need it.

Avoir besoin is built with de, so its complement is replaced by en. Learners default to y because English need takes a direct object with no preposition at all.

Expressions Built on Y and En

A large number of everyday phrases contain a y or an en that no longer refers to anything traceable. They are best learned whole.

Frozen phrases with y

In these, the y has lost any identifiable antecedent and simply belongs to the expression.

Il y a un problème.: There's a problem.
Ça y est, j'ai fini.: That's it, I've finished.
Vas-y, je t'écoute.: Go ahead, I'm listening.
Elle s'y connaît en informatique.: She knows her way around computers.

In the tu imperative, aller keeps an s before y for pronunciation: vas-y, not va-y.

Frozen phrases with en

En appears in a set of very common verbs where the de it replaced has disappeared from view.

Je m'en vais.: I'm off.
J'en ai marre.: I've had enough.
Ne t'en fais pas.: Don't worry.
Elle s'en est bien sortie.: She came out of it well.

S'en aller conjugates around the pronoun: je m'en vais, tu t'en vas, nous nous en allons.

When both appear together

If a sentence needs y and en at once, y comes first and en last. This combination is most familiar from il y en a.

Il y en a encore trois.: There are still three left.
Des places ? Il n'y en a plus.: Seats? There aren't any left.
Mets-y-en un peu.: Put a little in it.

Y before en is the last link in the whole pronoun order chain: me, te, se before le, la, les before lui, leur before y before en.

Adverbial Pronouns FAQs

What is the difference between y and en in French?: Y replaces a phrase introduced by à or by a preposition of place: je pense à mon travail becomes j'y pense. En replaces a phrase introduced by de or a quantity: je parle de mon travail becomes j'en parle. The verb's preposition decides which one you need.
Where do y and en go in the sentence?: Immediately before the verb they belong to. In a simple tense that means before the conjugated verb (j'y vais, il en parle); with an infinitive it means before the infinitive (je vais y aller, j'essaie d'en parler). In the affirmative imperative they follow the verb: vas-y, prends-en.
Can y or en refer to a person?: Normally no. People take lui and leur as indirect objects, or a stressed pronoun after the preposition: je pense à lui, je me souviens d'elle. En is occasionally heard for people in casual speech, but the safe pattern keeps y and en for things, ideas and places.
Why do French speakers say il y en a?: Because both pronouns are needed at once: y belongs to the fixed expression il y a, and en stands for the thing being counted. Des places ? Il y en a encore. The order y before en is fixed and never reverses.
Do I have to use en with numbers?: Yes. Combien de frères as-tu ? is answered j'en ai deux, not j'ai deux. The same holds for beaucoup, un peu, plusieurs and aucun: j'en ai beaucoup, je n'en ai aucun.