7.13: Structure - Le pronom « y »
- Page ID
- 120651
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)In this section, you will learn how to avoid repetition by using the pronoun « y ».
Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.
On étudie !
|
Français |
Anglais |
|---|---|
|
préposition + lieu = Y
Pour en savoir plus |
preposition + place = there
|
|
verbe à + chose = Y
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verb about, to, of + something = about, to, on it
|
(a) We've seen the pronoun y used with the verb aller (On y va, allons-y, etc.). The pronoun y can be very useful when referring to places. It usually translates to "there" in English. But it doesn't just refer to places. The pronoun y can replace any prepositional phrases in certain contexts.
A "prepositional phrase" always begins with a preposition (e.g., à, dans, sur, en, chez) followed by a noun phrase (e.g., à + la maison, dans + le salon, sur + la table noire, etc.). In a conversation, a prepositional phrase such as à la plage or dans la cuisine can be replaced by the pronoun y as long as we we already know what we are referring to. For example:
— Tu penses souvent à ton pays ? (Do you think about your country often?)
— Oui j’y pense souvent. (Yes, I think about it often.)
— Est-ce qu’elle a répondu à la question ? (Did she respond to the question?)
— Oui elle y a répondu. (Yes, she responded to it.)
— On va chez George ce soir ? (Are we going to George's house tonight?)
— Oui, on y va. (Yes, we are going there.)
— Ils se cachent derrière l’arbre. (They are hiding behind the tree.)
— Oui ils s’y cachent souvent, n’est-ce pas ? (Yes, they hide there often, right ?)
— Tu as laissé le colis devant l’escalier. (You left the package in front of the stairs)
— Je sais. J’y mets souvent mes affaires. (I know. I often put my things there.)
— Est-ce que vous allez assister au cours cet après-midi ? (Are you going to go to class this afternoon?)
— Oui, j’y assisterai. (Yes, I will go there.)
— Est-ce qu’il est toujours sur Internet ? (Is he always on the internet?)
— Oui, il y est tout le temps. (Yes, he's always on it.)
In the examples above, you can see that there are many equivalents to the pronoun y in English (e.g., there, it, to it, in it, etc.)
In the following example, you will see how the prepositional phrase is implied by the context:
— Est-ce que votre frigo est grand ? (Is your fridge big?)
— Oui, on peut y mettre beaucoup de choses. (Yes, we can put a lot if things there, in it.)
Here, the pronoun y means dans le frigo. The préposition dans is implied because we talking about what can put "inside" a fridge.
We can use the pronoun y to play this guessing game too:
On y fait du ski. C’est où ? (We ski there. Where is it?)
À la montagne ! (In the mountains!)
On y pêche souvent. C’est où ? (We fish there often. Where is it?)
Au lac ! (At the lake!)
(b) Here are some common expression that use y:
On y va ! ( Let’s go [there]!)
Vas-y ! (Go [ahead)]!)
Allez-y ! (Go [ahead)]!) (formal or plural)
Il y a... (There is, are...) (Note: y ≈ there)
Qu’est-ce qu’il y a ? (What’s wrong? [or What is there?])
(c) Once you start using y and en comfortably, you will feel pretty good about your French.
Notice the difference here:
On y va ! On s’en va !
Let’s go (somewhere)! Let’s get out of here!
Look at how they work together here:
Il y en a beaucoup.
There is, there are a lot of them.
Watch this video about different ways to use the French pronouns en & y.
On pratique !
Activité
Trouvez l’endroit qui y correspond.
Modèle :
Nous y écoutons de la musique ➔
Nous écoutons de la musique au concert.
- Beaucoup de gens y font de la gym. a. dans la cheminée
- Nous y pique-niquons de temps en temps. b. au marché
- Hélène y voit des pièces de théâtre. c. au centre commercial
- On y allume un feu quand il fait froid. d. à la pâtisserie
- On y va pour faire les provisions. e. au théâtre
- Marc y achète des pains au chocolat. f. au gymnase
- Mes filles aiment y faire les magasins. g. au cinéma
- On y voit des films. h. à la campagne
On approfondit !
Use the following resources to type accents and/or search for words:
- Accents: ç, à, é, è, â, ê, î, ô, û, ù, ë, ï, ü
- Dictionnaire français-anglais