I’m learning French (je l’aime!!) but I’m having a really tough time with “y” and “en” mostly en. I know it’s used with “de” phrases and verbs but I’ve seen song lyrics where it’s not like that, is it used a lot as slang? Je suis un peu confus, merci!
Hi! So: you are right in saying en is used for ‘de’ phrases! I’m gonna list the use of ‘y’ and ‘en’ here again:
‘y’: replaces prepositions with à, dans, en sur
e.g.: J’habite à Paris –>J’y habite.
J’ai mis le livre sur la table. –>Je l’y ai mis.
Je pense aux vacances. –>J’y pense.
[It cannot be used for persons! so: Je pense aux enfants. –>Je pense à eux]
‘en’: replaces prepositions with ‘de’:
e.g. Il vient de la gare –>Il en vient.
Je me souviens de cette ville. –>Je m’en souviens.
also: it replaces an amount of something (with de)
J’ai des cigarettes.–>J’en ai.
J’ai trop de travail. –>J’en ai trop.
However, in both cases there are idiomatic expressions with ‘y’ and ‘en’ where you can’t really see why it’s used. So you have to learn them and I think that is probably the case in a lot of song texts. Tbh I also don’t know all of them, I looked them up [these examples are from : Jean-Paul Confais- Grammaire explicative]
Idiomatic expressions with ‘y’:
Vous y êtes? - Are you done?/ Do you understand?
Vous n’y êtes pas. - You’re wrong.
Je n’y suis pour rien. - It’s not my fault.
Je n’y suis pour personne.- I’m not to be disturbed.
Je n’y tiens pas. - I don’t value it./ I don’t want to.
Je n’y tiens plus. - I don’t value it anymore./ It’s not my fault.
Je n’y peux rien. - It’s not my fault.
Tu t’y prends mal.- You are acting stupidly.
Il s’y connaît. - He is well-informed.
…
Idiomatic expressions with ‘en’:
Où en sommes-nous? - Where did we stop?/ Where were we before?
J’en ai pour une minute. - I’ll be back in a minute. / I just need a minute.
Elle m’en veut. - She’s angry with me.
Je sais à quoi m’en tenir. - I know where I am [with you].
Je n’en peux plus. - I can’t do it anymore.
Il s’en fait trop. - He worries too much.
Ne t’en fais pas. - Don’t worry!
Elle lui en fait voir (de toutes les couleurs). - She makes his life a living hell.
Je m’en remets à vous. - I count on you.
Venons-en au fait. - Let’s get to the point
Je n’en reviens pas. - I can’t believe it!
…
I hope this helps! [If there are any mistakes or anything to add, let me know!]
