French Word of the Day

there

1. With future and conditional tenses of aller (to go)
Avoid using the pronoun y with the future and conditional tenses of the verb aller, to go. It’s perfectly acceptable to use y with the near-future tense of aller (je vais y aller) — but not the future tense (j’irai) or the conditional tense (j’irais). The French do not say j’y irai. Instead, they would say j’irai or j’irai là-bas. Consider the following:

• Je vais y aller. J’irai. J’irais.
  I am going to go there. I will go (there). I would go (there).

2. With people
In the example below, note the correct way to replace a prepositional phrase that includes a person. In general, y is not used to replace people.

• Je pense à Paul. Je pense à lui.
  I’m thinking of Paul. I’m thinking of him.
• Marc pense à Marie. Il pense à elle.
  Marc is thinking of Marie. He is thinking of her.
• Jean pense à Marc et Marie. Il pense à eux.
  Jean is thinking of Marc and Marie. He is thinking of them.

3. Y can be used to replace things
Remember that, even though y is generally not used to replace people, above, it is the right choice to replace things in sentences constructed the same way.

• Je pense à mes devoirs. J’y pense.
  I’m thinking about my homework. I’m thinking about it.

TODAY
We’re focusing on the adverbial pronoun y.