Quand j'en aurai fini avec tout ça

Question

I've never really understood when to use "en" even with the lessons but with this sentence in particular, why are we using it? I know it's "finir de faire qch" but why is it needed and how do I know when to use it?

Thanks

Accepted Answer

Hi James, 
The 'en' here is part of an idiom -
en avoir fini avec quelque chose = to be done with something 
There are lots of idioms that use 'en' or 'y'.
You might know the expressions -

en avoir assez / marre = to have had enough 
s'y faire = to get used to something

Hope that helps!

Answer

That's strange to me. If it were "quand j'aurai fini de faire mes devoirs", then "quand j'en aurai fini" would make sense. But it's "when I'm done with all that", so there's no 'de'. Doesn't seem correct. I'm curious what the native speakers say.

Answer

Those idioms with en and y are so useful and make you sound so....French that I wonder if there couldn't be a dedicated lesson or two on them.