The pronoun Y

Michael R.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

The pronoun Y

I am not clear on these two examples even after rereading the lesson. I can't see the exact phrase or object that is being replaced (assuming its introduced by à or a prepositional verb). Is there another situation where "en" can be used.

- Tu te rappelles quand Luc a perdu à Donkey Kong à deux secondes de la fin ? J'ai les boules à chaque fois que j'y pense ! 
- Quand j'ai vu le “Game Over”, je n'arrivais pas à y croire ! Il me reste quatre tickets, et toi ?

Asked 6 years ago
AurélieNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Michael !

Here you have to look at the verbs used in the clauses with "y":

- "à chaque fois que j'y pense !"
-> here the verb is penser à [quelque chose]  

- "je n'arrivais pas à y croire !" 
->  here the structure is croire à/en [quelque chose]

I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !

 

 

Michael R.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Of course! Thank you Aurélie,

I had only been looking in the first sentence for 'y' candidates, but the answer is obvious now that you have pointed it out.

Am I correct to also assume that , under most circumstances, if the verb was verb + de [quelque chose] then the adverbial pronoun would be en.

Also, under the right conditions( I have read your lessons an à and de),  if it was a non prepositional verb the pronoun would be le.

Michael R. asked:

The pronoun Y

I am not clear on these two examples even after rereading the lesson. I can't see the exact phrase or object that is being replaced (assuming its introduced by à or a prepositional verb). Is there another situation where "en" can be used.

- Tu te rappelles quand Luc a perdu à Donkey Kong à deux secondes de la fin ? J'ai les boules à chaque fois que j'y pense ! 
- Quand j'ai vu le “Game Over”, je n'arrivais pas à y croire ! Il me reste quatre tickets, et toi ?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...