Le pronom personnel "en" (2)

Bonsoir à tous!

Yesterday, I said that I would talk about "en" again today. Before I start, let's have a quick revision. (You can also read Le pronom personnel "en" (1) first.)

ex. Vous buvez du café pour le petit déjeuner?

Non, je n'en bois pas.

"En" here replaces "du café". As it is a negative sentence, "ne...pas" is used and due to the vowel "e" of "en", "ne" should turn into "n'". 

You can specify the quantity with "en" as well. Read the following example.

ex. Vous buvez du café pour le petit déjeuner?

Oui, j'en bois un / deux / un peu / beaucoup / une tasse / un bol...

The quantity should be put after the verb. 

Let's learn two more uses today.

1. Pour remplacer de + un lieu (For replacing de + a place)

ex. Venez-vous d'Angleterre?

Oui, j'en viens. / Non, je n'en viens pas.

"En" replaces "d'Angleterre" 

2. Pour remplacer de + un mot / un groupe de mots (For replacing de + a noun / a noun group)

ex. Est-ce que vous vous souvenez de mon adresse? / Est-ce que tu te souviens de mon adresse?

Oui, je m'en souviens. / Non, je ne m'en souviens pas.

I bet all of you must now know that "en" replaces "de mon adresse". 

However, these two sentences can be quite tricky as they involve two pronouns: "me" and "en".

Let me briefly explain how it works here:

Personal pronouns go in this order. Don't worry! There are not more than two in each sentence. Also, "y" and "en" are rarely used together, except in the structure "il y en avoir". Read two more examples and you will understand perfectly:

ex. Est-ce que tu invites tes amis chez toi pour ton anniversaire?

Oui, je les y invite. / Non, je ne les y invite pas.

"Les" replaces "tes amis" and "y" refers to "chez toi".

ex. Est-ce que tu donnes tes pourboires aux chauffeurs de taxi?

Oui, je leur en donne. / Non, je ne leur en donne pas.

What do "leur" and "en" refer to? Right, "aux chauffeurs de taxi" and "tes pourboires" respectively.

Still don't get the order of personal pronouns? Try to use them more in your compositions and your teachers will tell you if you've used them correctly or not. Practice makes perfect!

Merci et au revoir!