The pronoun y

FRA.

• Discovery exercices •

Reminder : What is a pronoun ?

A pronoun (pronom) is a tool word (mot-outil) that replaces a noun (nom) mentioned previously.

Robert est boulanger. Il vend du pain. (Robert is a baker. He sells bread.)> Here, "il" replaces "Robert" to avoid repetition.

There are different types of pronouns : Subject pronouns (pronoms sujets) are the most used ones :

Je, tu, il, elle… (I, you, he, she…)

Second and reflexive pronouns (pronoms seconds et réflexifs) are also very common

Me, te, se, le, la, lui… (me, you, himself, him, her…)

As a pronoun refers to someone or something previously mentioned, one has to know the context of the sentence in order to fully understand what these tool words refer to :

Robert vend une baguette. Il la vend à 1€. (Robert sells a baguette. He sells it for €1.)> Here, la replaces une baguette to avoid repetition.

Note that In French, all of the pronouns will be placed before the verb, which is merely different from English.

The pronoun "y"

The pronoun "y" replaces a place name (nom de lieu).

Je vais en Italie pour les vacances. J'y resterai deux semaines. (I'm going to Italy for the holidays. I'll stay there for two weeks.)Nous sommes au marché. Nous y achetons des fruits et légumes. (We are at the market. We buy fruits and vegetables there.)

The pronoun "y" also replaces a noun introduced by the preposition "à".

Est-ce que vous vous intéressez à l'Histoire ? (Are you interested in History?)- Oui, je m’y intéresse un peu. (- Yes, I'm a little interested in it.)Il pense à son avenir ? (Is he thinking about his future?)- Non, il n’y pense pas vraiment… (- No, he's not really thinking about it…)Tu fais attention à ta santé ? (Are you paying attention to your health?)- Oui, j’y fais très attention. (- Yes, I pay very close attention to it.)

Warning! The pronoun "y" cannot replace a person.

Est-ce que tu penses à ton programme de la fin de la semaine ? (Are you thinking about your weekend program?)- Oui, j'y pense. (- Yes, I'm thinking about it.)

but…

Est-ce que tu penses à Vanessa ? (Are you thinking about Vanessa?)- Oui, je pense à elle. (- Yes, I'm thinking about her.)

In summary

"y" is a pronoun that…

• Replaces a place name to avoid repetitions.

• Replaces a noun introduced by the preposition "à".

• Can't be used to replace a person.

• Cliquer ici pour faire les exercices •

Bonus

There are many fixed expressions with y.

Y aller = Partir vers un but, se motiver - Allez-y ! Vas-y, dépêche toi ! (Come on! Let's go, hurry up!)Ne pas s’y retrouver = Perdre ses repères - Je ne m'y retrouve pas dans tous ces dossiers. (I can't find my way around all these files.)Y voir plus clair = Être mieux organisé - J'y vois plus clair car j'ai tout rangé. (I see things more clearly because I put everything away.)Y rester = Mourir - Si tu bois en conduisant, tu vas y rester, c'est sûr. (If you drink and drive, you're going to die, that's for sure.)

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