use of en

Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

use of en

In the following: J'ai encore des cadeaux à acheté. Since it's des cadeaux why is it transformed to Marie les a déjà tous achetés rather than Marie en a déjà achetés?
Asked 7 years ago
AurélieNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq
Bonjour Ann ! In "Marie already bought them all.", we're talking about the specific presents she's bought, hence the "definite" direct object pronoun "les". "Marie en a déjà acheté." means "Marie already bought *some*." Moreover, in that case, you would also lose "all/tous" as you can't say "some all". But here she bought "all of them" (i.e. the ones she meant to buy). I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !
Ann H. asked:

use of en

In the following: J'ai encore des cadeaux à acheté. Since it's des cadeaux why is it transformed to Marie les a déjà tous achetés rather than Marie en a déjà achetés?

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