Studyfern
Aa
Text size
Line spacing
Reading font
Theme
Focus mode

Home › French

Mission: shop at the Saturday market

Y (there) and en (some, of it, of them), the two little words that make French sound natural.

FrenchA2 · Everyday lifeAbout 5 min: 2 reading, 3 practiceUpdated

After this lesson you can
  • Use y for a place already mentioned (j'y vais)
  • Use en for an amount or "some" (j'en veux deux)
  • Keep the number after en (j'en prends trois)
  • Put y and en before the verb, and in il y en a
Everyday life, A2: lesson 5 of 6
  1. A2 · Everyday life
  2. Mission: sort out the bathroom rota with your flatmate 5 min
  3. Mission: get your lost suitcase back 5 min
  4. Mission: help a friend choose between two flats 5 min
  5. Mission: plan Mum's birthday with your brother 5 min
  6. Mission: shop at the Saturday market 5 min
  7. Mission: change your plans without upsetting anyone 6 min

Try first

You haven't learned this yet, so guess. Guessing before you read helps the explanation stick. Nothing here is scored.

Already know this? Take a 3-question check and skip ahead.

Get all three right and the lesson is marked done.

Level Level A2 (around the DELF A2 exam). Real French: chatting with a stallholder at the market.

What it is

Your mission: it's Saturday morning. Your neighbour Bernard asks if you're going to the market, then you buy fruit from Madame Roche, who keeps asking « Vous en voulez combien ? ». Answer everyone without repeating the place or the food.

Y = there (a place already mentioned, usually after à, en, dans, chez):

  • Tu vas au marché ? — Oui, j'y vais. (Yes, I'm going there.)
  • Elle habite à Lyon depuis longtemps ? — Elle y habite depuis dix ans.

En = some, of it, of them (replaces du, de la, des + noun, or a noun after a number or amount):

  • Vous voulez des pommes ? — Oui, j'en veux. (Yes, I want some.)
  • Vous voulez combien de pommes ? — J'en veux deux kilos.
  • Il y a du pain ? — Oui, il y en a. / Non, il n'y en a plus.

Keep the number or amount at the end: j'en prends trois, j'en veux un peu.

Position: before the verb, like other pronouns: j'y vais, j'en ai, je n'y vais pas, je n'en veux pas. In the passé composé, before avoir / être: j'y suis allé(e), j'en ai acheté.

Quick check

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. « Tu vas à la boulangerie ? » — « Oui, j'… vais. »

    Show answer

    y. A place already mentioned → y.

Why it matters

Y and en turn up in nearly every conversation: on y va (let's go), j'en ai marre (I'm fed up), il y en a. Shopkeepers ask Vous en voulez combien ? all day long. Learners who leave them out sound textbook-stiff; using them is a quick way to sound natural.

Worked example

  • Bernard: Vous allez au marché ?
  • You: Oui, j'y vais maintenant. Vous y allez aussi ?
  • Bernard: Non, j'y suis allé hier.

At Madame Roche's stall:

  • Madame Roche: Bonjour ! Des fraises ? Elles sont superbes.
  • You: Oui, j'en voudrais.
  • Madame Roche: Vous en voulez combien ?
  • You: J'en prends une barquette. Et vous avez des abricots ?
  • Madame Roche: Ah non, il n'y en a plus, désolée.

Real French: On y va ! (Let's go!) is one of the most common phrases in French; and Il y en a is often said y en a in fast speech.

Common mistake

Dropping en after a number when the thing was already mentioned: wrong: Je veux deux (two what?). With a number and no noun, French needs en: J'en veux deux.

And using y for people: y is for places and things, not people. "I'm thinking of him" is je pense à lui, not wrong: j'y pense.

Quick check

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. « Vous avez des enfants ? » — "Yes, I have three."

    Show answer

    Oui, j'en ai trois.. en + verb + number.

Key terms

y
there (a place already mentioned)
en
some, of it, of them (an amount)
on y va
let's go
il y en a / il n'y en a plus
there is some / there's none left
vous en voulez combien ?
how many / how much do you want?
une barquette
a punnet, a small tray (of fruit)

Practise the key terms

Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.

FrontBack
ythere (a place already mentioned)
ensome, of it, of them (an amount)
on y valet's go
il y en a / il n'y en a plusthere is some / there's none left
vous en voulez combien ?how many / how much do you want?
une barquettea punnet, a small tray (of fruit)

Practice

Sort it

y or en?

  1. Tu vas à la plage ?

    Show answer

    y. a place

  2. Tu veux du café ?

    Show answer

    en. some coffee

  3. Il habite en Espagne ?

    Show answer

    y. a place

  4. Tu as combien de frères ?

    Show answer

    en. a number of something

  5. Vous allez chez Paul ?

    Show answer

    y. chez Paul means Paul's place, so it counts as a place

Quick quiz

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. « Il reste du lait ? » — "No, there's none left."

    Show answer

    Non, il n'y en a plus.. il n'y en a plus.

  2. Past: « Tu es allé(e) au musée ? » — "Yes, I went (there)."

    Show answer

    Oui, j'y suis allé(e).. y before être in the passé composé.

Build the sentence

Build "I'll take two kilos (of them)."

Show answer

J'en prends deux kilos.. en before the verb, the amount at the end.

Practise speaking

Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.

Mission role-play. Play two characters at a French market, at level A2, speaking naturally but clearly: first Bernard, my neighbour, who asks whether I'm going to the market and when I went last; then Madame Roche, a fruit stallholder who offers fruit and keeps asking « Vous en voulez combien ? ». Ask one question at a time. After each of my answers, tell me in English what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again; watch y for places and en with amounts. When I have used y twice and en three times correctly and bought three kinds of fruit, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 3 sentences.

Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.

Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.

New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.

In short

  • y = there (a place already mentioned): j'y vais.
  • en = some, of it, of them: j'en veux; keep the number: j'en prends deux.
  • Both go before the verb, and before avoir / être in the past.
  • il y en a / il n'y en a plus; on y va.
  • y is not for people.

Mastery check

Answer without looking back. Score 80% or more and the lesson is marked done. Your result is kept only in this browser.

Check yourself

Answer in your head first, then open the answer. Nothing is saved.

  1. « Tu manges de la viande ? » — "No, I don't eat any."

    Show answer

    Non, je n'en mange pas.

  2. « Vous habitez à Nice ? » — "Yes, I've lived there for a year."

    Show answer

    Oui, j'y habite depuis un an.

  3. What does « On y va ! » mean?

    Show answer

    Let's go!

Further reading