The pronoun en

Tu as des frères ? Oui, j'en ai deux.Do you have brothers? Yes, I have two [of them].

Rather than repeating a noun that was just introduced with de — an unspecified amount, a number of things, or a de + noun after certain verbs — French replaces it with the small pronoun en, placed, like the object pronouns, right before the conjugated verb.

Quick shortcut: en replaces de + a noun — an amount, a number of things, or an idea introduced with de — and goes right before the conjugated verb: j'en ai, tu en veux ?.

What en replaces

en can stand in for:

• a noun with a partitive article (du, de la, de l') or the plural indefinite article des — du café, des pommes
• a noun after a number or a quantity expression (beaucoup de, un peu de...) — the number or quantity word stays, only the noun disappears
• a noun after a verb or expression that itself takes de — avoir besoin de, avoir envie de, parler de, se souvenir de, revenir de (a place)

When the noun is a direct object with no de in front of it — introduced by a definite article (le, la, les) or a possessive — it needs a direct object pronoun instead: Je vois mes amis. → Je les vois. A noun preceded by a possessive that comes after de still takes en, just like any other: Je parle de mes vacances. → J'en parle.

Replacing du, de la, de l', des

With no number or quantity word left behind, en simply steps in for the whole partitive phrase:

• Tu veux du café ? — Oui, j'en veux. (Yes, I want some.)
• Elle mange des pommes. — Elle en mange. (She eats some.)
• *Il boit **de l'*eau. — Il en boit. (He drinks some.)

Leaving a number or quantity word behind

When the original sentence names a number or a quantity expression, en replaces only the noun — the number or quantity word stays put, right after the verb:

• J'ai trois sœurs. → J'en ai trois. (I have three [of them].)
• Elle a beaucoup de patience. → Elle en a beaucoup. (She has a lot [of it].)
• Je voudrais un peu de sucre. → J'en voudrais un peu. (I'd like a little [of it].)

With a bare un or une (just "one", not a partitive), the number usually stays too, so the exact quantity doesn't get lost:

• Tu as un vélo ? — Oui, j'en ai un. (Yes, I have one.)

Dropping un/une isn't outright wrong — Oui, j'en ai. is fine when the precise quantity doesn't matter — but keeping it is the safer, clearer default: without it, the answer could just as easily mean "yes, I have some."

en with il y a

en slots in between y and a, right where the noun's place would otherwise be:

• Il y a des pommes dans le frigo. → Il y en a dans le frigo. (There are some in the fridge.)
• Il n'y a pas de lait. → Il n'y en a pas. (There isn't any.)

en after a verb or expression with de

Several common verbs and set expressions are always followed by de + noun — avoir besoin de, avoir envie de, parler de, se souvenir de, être content de, revenir de (a place). en replaces that whole de + noun:

• J'ai besoin de ton aide. → J'en ai besoin. (I need it.)
• Tu parles de ce film ? — Oui, j'en parle. (Yes, I'm talking about it.)
• Il revient de Paris. → Il en revient. (He's coming back from there.)

en is for a thing, place or idea. For a person, French normally uses a stressed pronoun instead: Tu parles de Marc ? → Oui, je parle de lui. (not ❌ Oui, j'en parle.)

Position: before the verb, after in the affirmative imperative

Like other object pronouns, en goes right before the conjugated verb in a statement, a question or a negative sentence — ne... pas wraps around en and the verb together:

• Je n'en veux pas. (I don't want any.)

The one exception is the affirmative imperative, where en attaches right after the verb with a hyphen — and a tu imperative that had dropped its -s (see the imperative) gets it back before en, purely for the sound:

• Prends-en ! (Have some!)
• Manges-en ! (Eat some! — not ❌ Mange-en !, which is simply wrong)
• N'en prends pas ! (Don't have any!) — back in front of the verb for a negative imperative.

With another verb (aller, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir + infinitive)

When the verb attached to en is an infinitive right after aller, pouvoir, vouloir or devoir, en moves to sit right before that infinitive, not before the first verb:

• Je vais en acheter. (I'm going to buy some.) — never ❌ J'en vais acheter.

Common mistakes

• ❌ J'ai trois. → ✅ J'en ai trois. (the noun still needs en, even with a number left in the sentence)
• ❌ Tu as des frères ? Oui, je les ai. → ✅ Oui, j'en ai. (an unspecified number takes en, not the definite pronoun les)
• ❌ Mange-en ! → ✅ Manges-en ! (the -s comes back before en)
• ❌ J'ai en trois. → ✅ J'en ai trois. (en, like other object pronouns, goes before the verb)

Quick check

Replace the underlined part with en.

1. Tu veux du gâteau ? → Tu ____ veux ?
2. J'ai deux chats. → J'____ ai deux.
3. Elle a besoin de temps. → Elle ____ a besoin.
4. Il y a des œufs dans le frigo. → Il y ____ a dans le frigo.
5. Imperative: Prends du pain ! → Prends-____ !

Key takeaways

• en replaces a noun introduced with de — a partitive amount, a number of things, or a de + noun after a verb like avoir besoin de or parler de.
• With a number or quantity word (trois, beaucoup, un peu...), en replaces only the noun — the number or quantity word stays in the sentence.
• Like other object pronouns, en goes before the conjugated verb — except in the affirmative imperative, where it attaches after with a hyphen, and a tu imperative recovers its dropped -s before it (Manges-en !).
• en doesn't replace a direct object introduced by le/la/les or a possessive — that's direct object pronouns instead; a possessive noun that comes after de still takes en.
• With aller/pouvoir/vouloir/devoir + infinitive, en moves to sit right before the infinitive.