Strange use of 'en'?

Paris K.C1KwizIQ Q&A regular contributor

Strange use of 'en'?

Hi room and experts

Please can someone explain use of  'en' in sentence, 'Nous savons que tu as travaillé dur pour en arriver là'

I am confused because my understanding is that  'en' is used to replace a (de + phrase) proposition following a verb. However, in this case,  I do not see how the verb 'arriver' could have been followed by the  'de' proposition and hence I am confused

Please help 

Asked 6 years ago
Cécile J.A1KwizIQ Q&A super contributorCorrect answer

Hi Paris, 

As Chris says, there are some verbs that have an idiomatic 'en' in their construction.

S'en aller = to leave

is probably the most common one.

Je m'en vais = I am off 

Others include :

En avoir marre/assez-----> J'en ai marre de ses mensonges = I have had enough of his lies

En vouloir à quelqu'un ----> Je lui en veux de m'avoir menti = I am mad with him/her for having lied to me

Ne plus en pouvoir -----> Je n'en peux plus! = I am shattered!

There are some with 'y' too.

e.g.

Ça y est! = That's it!

J'y vais = I am off

Hope this helps!

Chris W.C1KwizIQ Q&A super contributor

It's probably best to consider en arriver là as an atomic phrase, meaning "to get there"

Paris K.C1KwizIQ Q&A regular contributor

thanks guys. Thats helpful

Paris K. asked:

Strange use of 'en'?

Hi room and experts

Please can someone explain use of  'en' in sentence, 'Nous savons que tu as travaillé dur pour en arriver là'

I am confused because my understanding is that  'en' is used to replace a (de + phrase) proposition following a verb. However, in this case,  I do not see how the verb 'arriver' could have been followed by the  'de' proposition and hence I am confused

Please help 

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