#peepoop69

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

fresh impBOT
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Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

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Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

strong fog
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It's a pronoun, not a preposition. Being a pronoun, it replaces something that was previously mentioned when you don't need to repeat it in full because it's obvious what you're talking about.

Specifically, the pronoun "y" replaces two possible things:

  • locations
  • objects or phrases introduced by "à" if they were said in full.

Example where it's used to replace a location:

  • Tu veux aller au centre commercial pour le déjeuner aujourd'hui ? (do you want to go to the mall for lunch today?)
  • Non, j'y ai déjà mangé plusieurs fois cette semaine (No, I've already eaten there several times this week)

Example where it's used to replace something introduced by "à":

  • Ta sœur compte se marier bientôt ? (is your sister planning to get married soon?)
  • Elle y a beaucoup réfléchi, et au final elle a décidé de ne pas se marier. (She thought about it a lot, but in the end she decided not to get married).
    In the above example, "y" is used to replace the act of getting married because "réfléchir" is followed by "à": "réfléchir à quelque chose".
glacial talon
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So it’s just used to replace stuff already mentioned?

strong fog
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Yes

glacial talon
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Seems easy enough

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I understand the top part but the bottom part with à is confusing me a little

strong fog
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Here's a more simple example:

  • J'adore ma voiture, je pense tout le temps à ma voiture.
    Which means:
  • I love my car, I think about my car all the time.

In real life, you wouldn't need to repeat "my car" twice like that. It would be unnatural, we already know that you're talking about your car.
So in English you'd probably say this:

  • I love my car, I think about it all the time.
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In French, to do the same thing, you need to take into account the fact that the verb "penser" is followed by "à" when its object isn't a pronoun: "je pense tout le temps à ma voiture"

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So if you want to replace "ma voiture" with a pronoun, you need to use "y" in that sentence:

  • J'adore ma voiture, j'y pense tout le temps
glacial talon
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I think I understand it know

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Kind of at least

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It’s sole purpose is to replace previously established information

strong fog
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Yes, that's what "y" and all other pronouns are for. Like "it" in English.

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Je déteste ma voiture ==> Je la déteste (I hate my car ==> I hate it)
Je pense à ma voiture ==> J'y pense (I think about my car ==> I think about it)

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Je rêve de ma voiture ==> J'en rêve (I dream of my car ==> I dream of it)

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Among other factors, the underlying preposition or lack thereof after the verb matters when deciding which pronoun to use

glacial talon
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Kinda of like qui, que?

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Where it matters which one you choose

scarlet oak