"Y" and "en": what these two French pronouns replace and where they go
What "y" and "en" replace, where they go, in what order, and why "Vas-y" takes an s.
"Y" and "en" are among the most frequent words in French, and among the worst mastered by learners. The French Ministry of Education's grammar terminology guide, published in 2020, puts them in a class of their own: adverbial pronouns. Here is what they replace, where they sit, and why you write "Vas-y".
What exactly do "y" and "en" replace?
Both pronouns follow the same principle: they take back a phrase introduced by a preposition, so you do not repeat it. What separates them is the preposition. That is why the grammar terminology guide of the French Ministry of Education calls them adverbial pronouns rather than ordinary personal pronouns.
"En" stands for a complement introduced by de. The reference sheet of the Office québécois de la langue française states that it replaces a complement introduced by de standing most often for a thing or an animal, and that it can be a complement of the noun, of the adjective, or a direct or indirect complement of the verb.
- Il parle de son travail. Il en parle.
- Elle est fière de son fils. Elle en est fière.
- Tu veux du pain ? Tu en veux ?
- J'ai trois frères. J'en ai trois.
That last example is the one English speakers get wrong for years. English simply drops the pronoun: "I have three", "I want some". French allows no such gap: as soon as a quantity stands alone, "en" is compulsory, and leaving it out is the most recognisable English accent in French grammar. This pronoun has nothing to do with the preposition "en" used before place names, covered in our article En France, au Japon, à Cuba: which French preposition before a place name?.
"Y" stands for a phrase introduced by à, and for a place. The Dictionnaire de l'Académie française describes it both as an adverb of place, "Il y sera avant l'aube", and as a pronoun replacing a noun preceded by à, pointing to things rather than people: "n'y touchez pas".
- Je pense à mon voyage. J'y pense.
- Elle va à Lyon. Elle y va.
- Tu réponds à ce message ? Tu y réponds ?
The reservation about people matters: you say "Je pense à ma sœur", then "Je pense à elle", not "J'y pense". English uses the same shape for "about her" and "about it", French does not.
Where do "y" and "en" go in the sentence?
The basic rule: before the verb. "J'y vais", "Il en veut", "Nous n'y allons pas". In a compound tense the pronoun stays in front of the auxiliary: "J'y suis allé", "Elle en a parlé". This is the first hurdle for an English speaker: English puts the object after the verb, French puts these pronouns before it.
The second trap is the infinitive: when the pronoun depends on one, it goes in front of that infinitive, not the conjugated verb. You say "Je vais y aller", not "J'y vais aller", and "Je voudrais en parler", not "J'en voudrais parler".
The third is the affirmative imperative, the only case where the pronoun moves behind the verb and hangs on it with a hyphen: "Parles-en", "Vas-y", "Prenons-en". In the negative imperative everything goes back in front of the verb, with no hyphen: "N'en parle pas", "N'y va pas".
In what order when several pronouns follow one another?
This is the point that holds out longest. The useful rule fits in one sentence: "y" and "en" always come last, and "y" comes before "en".
- Il y a des places. Il y en a.
- Je lui ai parlé de ce projet. Je lui en ai parlé.
- Elle nous a emmenés à la gare. Elle nous y a emmenés.
For the affirmative imperative, the sheet of the Office québécois de la langue française on pronouns with the imperative gives the full order: direct complement first, indirect next, as in "Rendez-le-nous", with "en" or "y" in second position. Two details worth memorising:
- "me" and "te" elide before "en" and "y": "Donnez-m'en", "Va-t'en".
- the form "Donnez-moi-z-en", common in speech, is flagged as incorrect by that same sheet.
Why is there an s in "Vas-y" and "Manges-en"?
Because it reverses the ordinary rule. In the imperative, first-group verbs take no s in the second person singular: écoute, regarde, mange. The Académie française reminds readers that "écoutes" and "regardes" remain mistakes.
It then adds that "when these imperatives have the pronouns en and y as their complement, a euphonic s is added, as in manges-en, restes-y". The sheet of the Office québécois de la langue française sets out the same rule: this s appears before "en" or "y" in the singular imperative of first-group verbs and of a few -ir verbs such as cueillir, ouvrir and offrir, provided the pronoun is not followed by an infinitive.
- Parles-en à tes collègues.
- Manges-en autant que tu en veux.
- Offres-en plus souvent.
- Vas-y sans tarder.
Hence the exception inside the exception: "Va en chercher" takes no s, because "chercher" comes right after "en".
What these rules do not settle
They describe a structure, not real usage, and three things escape them.
First, a large share of the uses of "y" and "en" are frozen. They follow from no rule and are learned like vocabulary: "il y a", "ça y est", "s'en aller", "y être pour quelque chose". You have to meet them.
Second, knowing the rule is not enough to apply it in time. These are one-syllable words placed before the verb, at the exact moment when you are still searching for what to say. That is why they arrive late in speech, long after being understood on paper.
Third, there is a correct fallback that learners underuse: repeat the phrase. "Je parle souvent de ce projet" is not a mistake, only heavier than "J'en parle souvent". As long as the pronoun is not automatic, a complete and correct sentence beats a misplaced pronoun.
Our level test places your French in a few minutes. Our articles The most common French grammar mistakes (and how to fix them) and French Past Participle Agreement: the Three-Question Method cover the other traps that play out around the verb.
At Frenchee, classes are live with qualified native teachers, one to one or in a small group of three to five students, with no subscription. That is the format that lets you redo the same sentence as often as needed, until "je lui en ai parlé" comes out on its own.
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