J’en ai assez - The Pronoun EN in French

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Hey, today we´ll be talking about the pronoun en, which is very frequently used in French. It doesn’t have an exact English counterpart, so we have to render its meaning in another way in English.

Partitive Meaning of the Pronoun EN

The pronoun en may be used in partitive sense. It then replaces the noun preceded by a partitive article and is often translated as some or any. The pronoun always directly precedes the verb. Have a look:

Tu prends du café le matin?	Do you drink coffee in the morning?
Oui, je prends du café le matin.	Yes, I drink some coffee in the morning.
Oui, j’en prends le matin.	Yes, I drink some in the morning.

Y a-t-il de l’eau dans la cruche?	Is there any water in the jug?
Oui, il y a de l’eau.	Yes, there is some water.
Oui, il y en a.	Yes, there is (some).

Tu prends du café le matin? — Tu prends **du café** le matin?

Quantity

We often use the pronoun en to specify the quantity of something. It’s used if the meaning of the noun that is replaced is clear. The quantity may be expressed by an indefinite article, a number or words like beaucoup, peu, plusieurs, etc. The article, number or another quantity word is repeated. If the word is followed by de, the de is dropped. Have a look:

J’ai une voiture.	I have a car.
J’en ai une.	I have one.

Je vois plusieurs fleurs.	I can see a few flowers.
J’en vois plusieurs.	I can see some (of them).

Il prend trois crayons.	He takes three pencils.
Il en prend trois.	He takes three (of them).

Tu achètes un kilo de pommes.	You’re buying a kilo of apples.
Tu en achètes un kilo.	You’re buying a kilo (of them).

Je vois plusieurs fleurs. — Je vois **plusieurs fleurs**.

Indefinite Articles – Negatives

If the noun is preceded by an indefinite article, it’s repeated in positive sentences, but not in negative ones. Have a look:

Tu as une voiture?	Do you have a car?
Oui, j’en ai une.	Yes, I have one.
Non, je n’en ai pas.	No, I don’t have one.

Verbal Expressions with de

En is also used to replace nouns following the preposition de. We do not use it, however, if the noun refers to a person. In such cases we use the personal pronouns, like in the last example. Have a look:

Paul parle de ses livres.	Paul is talking about his books.
Paul en parle.	Paul is talking about them.

J’ai besoin d’une voiture.	I need a car.
J’en ai besoin.	I need one.

Nous sommes fiers de notre pays.	We are proud of our country.
Nous en sommes fiers.	We are proud of it.

Tu parles de Marie.	You’re talking about Marie.
Tu parles d’elle.	You’re talking about her.

J’ai besoin d’une voiture. — J’ai besoin **d’une voiture**.

Imperatives with the Pronoun EN

It’s quite interesting how we use the pronoun en in imperatives. First of all, in positive imperatives it’s attached to the verb by means of a hyphen. Secondly, if it’s the second person singular form, we retain the final –s in the imperative form of the verb. In negative imperatives the final –s disappears and the pronoun is again directly before the verb. Have a look: