French Word of the Day

some, of it/them, from there

• Voulez-vous du beurre? Oui, j’en veux.
  Do you want some butter? Yes, I want some.
• Vous avez besoin de livres? Oui, j’en ai besoin.
  You need books? Yes, I  need some.
• Vous avez des lampes? Combien en avez-vous?
  You have some lamps? How many of them do you have?
• Tu as les trois clés? Non, j’en ai deux.
  You have the three keys? No, I have two of them.
• Tu viens de Londres? Oui, j’en viens.
  You’re coming from London? Yes, I’m coming from there.

ABOUT EN
The adverbial pronoun en typically replaces phrases that begin with de — especially the partitive article. It may also be used to stand in for de + a place or to demonstrate a portion of a definite quantity (Il en a cinq/He has five of them).

THIS WEEK
Instead of having a different word each day, we’re focusing on just two words — the adverbial pronouns y and en.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

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En is used in several common phrases to express a range of indefinite ideas.

• Elle n’est pas fâchée. J’en suis positif.
  She’s not mad. I’m positive about it.
• J’ai perdu mon argent. Je n’en reviens pas.
  I lost my money. I can’t get over it. (literally, I can’t return from it.)
• Elle s’en est allée.
  She went away.
• Je vous en prie.
  You’re welcome (very polite — literally, I ask you to think nothing of it.)

THIS WEEK
Instead of having a different word each day, we’re focusing on just two words — the adverbial pronouns y and en.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BENEFITS OF A VOILA! MEMBERSHIP
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le clique= the click, as of a computer or keyboard
la clique = the clique, as in a social group

La clique des ados se sont envoyé des textes avec le clique d’une souris.
The clique of teenagers sent each other texts with the click of a mouse.

TODAY
We’re having fun with words that have more than one definition that varies according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!

PRACTICE TO DISCOVER WHY GENDER MATTERS
Take our French Word Gender Quiz to find out if you can recognize the difference between click and clique in French and to discover more gender differences.

le mode = the way or method
la mode = fashion

Le mode de rester à la mode est d’acheter de nouveaux vêtements.
The way to stay in fashion is to buy new clothes.

THIS WEEK
We’re having fun with words that have more than one definition that varies according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!

VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.

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le page = the page, as in an aid or assistant
la page = the page, as in a book

Le page a tourné à la page 100.
The page turned to page 100.

TODAY
We’re having fun with words that have more than one definition that varies according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!

DISCOVER HOW GENDER MATTERS IN THESE WORDS
Learn how the difference between le and la creates the paired meanings below:

• Click and Clique
• Method and Fashion
• Vase and Mud
• Book and Pound
• Tour and Tour

QUIZ YOURSELF
Take our Gender Matters French Vocabulary Quiz to find out how you fare with words whose meanings change according to gender.

le vase = the vase
la vase = the mud, silt

Les fleurs poussent dans la vase avant d’être mises dans le vase.
The flowers grow in the mud before being put in the vase.

TODAY
We’re discovering words that have definitions that vary according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others like it here.

un livre = a book
une livre = a pound

Voici un livre qui pèse une livre.
Here’s a book that weighs a pound.

TODAY
We’re having fun with words that have more than one definition that varies according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!

DISCOVER HOW GENDER MATTERS IN THESE WORDS
Learn how the difference between le and la creates the paired meanings below:

• Click and Clique
• Method and Fashion
• Vase and Mud
• Page (paper) and Page (person)
• Tour and Tour

QUIZ YOURSELF
Take our Gender Matters French Vocabulary Quiz to find out how you fare with words whose meanings change according to gender.

un tour = a tour
une tour = a tower

Nous avons fait un tour de Paris où nous avons vu une tour célèbre.
We took a tour of Paris where we saw a famous tower.

THIS WEEK
We’re having fun with words that have more than one definition that varies according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!

VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.

PRACTICE WHAT YOU’RE LEARNING AT FRENCH FANATIC!
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un voile = a veil
une voile = a sail

Est-ce que les bonnes sœurs portent le voile même quand elles font de la voile?
Do the nuns wear the veil even when they go sailing?

THIS WEEK
We’re having fun with words that have more than one definition that varies according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!

VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.

PRACTICE WHAT YOU’RE LEARNING AT FRENCH FANATIC!
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When y and en are used together, remember that y always comes first. If you forget, just remember that, when used in the correct order, they make the sound of a donkey (c’est vrai!).

• Y a-t-il des voitures? Oui, il y en a beaucoup.
  Are there any cars? Yes, there are a lot of them.

THIS WEEK
Instead of having a different word each day, we’re focusing on just two words — the adverbial pronouns y and en.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BENEFITS OF A VOILA! MEMBERSHIP
Join Voilà for only 3.95 per month to access online practice quizzes like our special 2010 Year in Review Quiz and our archives by subject.

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there

Voulez-vous aller à Paris? Oui, je veux y aller.
Do you want to go to Paris? Yes, I want to go there.

MORE ABOUT Y
The pronoun y generally means there. It’s typically used to replace information in a sentence that follows prepositions including à, dans, en, sous and sur. Consider these examples:

• La lampe est dans l’armoire. Elle y est.
  The lamp is in the cabinet. It’s there.
• Le chien est couché sous la table. Il y est.
  The dog is lying under the table. He’s there.

TODAY
Today’s example was originally published as part of a weeklong look at the adverbial pronouns y and en.

Y is used as part of  several idiomatic expressions:

• Réfléchissez-y.
  Think about it.
• J’y pense.
  I’m thinking about it.
• Ça y est!
  That’s it! It’s finished!

THIS WEEK
Instead of having a different word each day, we’re focusing on just two words — the adverbial pronouns y and en.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BENEFITS OF A VOILA! MEMBERSHIP
Join Voilà for only 3.95 per month to access online practice quizzes like our special 2010 Year in Review Quiz and our archives by subject.

Take our Visitors Preview to learn more.
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there is, there are

Il y a cinq livres sur la table.
There are five books on the table.

ABOUT Y
In French, y — along with en, which we’ll discuss later in the week — is an adverbial pronoun. In general, y means there. However, take note that there’s lots to know about this little word that’s very important in the French language. We thought we’d start today with the word’s most common use — in the phrase il y a, the French equivalent of there is. Learn this and you’ll find yourself with the critical building block of expressing many ideas and situations. If you’re seeking a literal translation of the phrase, it’s it has there. But it’s much better to think of it as simply there is or there are. Take note that this expression may be used in different tenses, but the verb avoir always remains in the third-person singular, no matter whether the thing that follows is singular or plural:

• Il y a un chien dans la maison. (There’s a dog in the house.)
• Il y a trois chiens dans la maison. (There are three dogs in the house.)
• Il y avait un chien dans la maison. (There was a dog in the house.)
• Il y avait trois chiens dans la maison. (There were three dogs in the house.)
• Il y aura un chien dans la maison. (There will be a dog in the house.)
• Il y aura trois chiens dans la maison. (There will be three dogs in the house.)

THIS WEEK
We’re doing something a little different. Instead of having a different word each day, we’re going to focus on just two words this week — the adverbial pronouns y and en.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BENEFITS OF A VOILA! MEMBERSHIP
Join Voilà for only 3.95 per month to access online practice quizzes like our special 2010 Year in Review Quiz and our archives by subject.

Take our Visitors Preview to learn more.
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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.