What does 'en' mean?

En is a tricky one! This has several meanings, the most common being as follows; it can mean 'in' when referring to a country or a mode of transport, it can mean 'while' or 'by' when used with a present participle (eg 'en mangeant' - while eating). The hardest one to grasp is the use of 'en' as an adjective, meaning 'of it'. It always comes BEFORE the verb in the sentence, when that vreb is referring to it. For example, 'I hate this game, I have had enough of it!' - je déteste ce jeux, j'EN ai marre!' literally, you have to say 'I of it have had enough!' More examples: I do not like vegetables, so I don't eat many [of them] - Je n'aime pas de legumes, donc je n'EN mange pas beaucoup. Again, you are literally saying 'I do not like vegetables, so I don't of them eat many.

Do you play sport? I play several [of them] - Est-ce que tu fais du sport? J'EN fais plusieurs.

I made a cake, do you want some of it? - J'ai préparé un gâteau, tu EN veux?

HE

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do you construct the perfect tense for verbs that take avoir?


In the perfect tense, with verbs ending in -er, how do you know when to write "é/és/ée/ées" at the end of the verb?


When do you agree the past participle?


How do you know when to use the imperfect tense and when to use the perfect?