The Pronoun Y
Le pronom Y
(The pronoun Y)
The pronoun y is used to avoid repetition in French. Y refers to a place that has already
been mentioned. It is usually translated as “there” in English. Y replaces entire phrases
beginning with a preposition like à, dans, chez, etc. – but notably, NOT de.
The placement of this pronoun is the same as the object pronouns you have already
studied. You will place y immediately before the verb or auxiliary and after ne or any
other pronouns.
Jean, tu vas au café ? à Oui, j’y vais.
Vas-tu au cinéma ? à Non, je n’y vais pas.
Est-ce que vous êtes allés à la gare ? à Oui, nous y sommes allés.
Est-ce que tu dois aller à la bibliothèque ? à Oui, je dois y aller.
Notice in the last example that y goes in front of the verb that acts upon it: aller.
Remember that pronouns do not go in front of all the verbs in a sentence, just the verb
that specifically relates to it.
Now that you’ve seen several pronouns in French, let’s review their order:
Subject + ne + me + le + lui + y + verb + pas
te
la
leur
se
les
nous
vous
You generally won’t have another pronoun in front of y. The most common exception
will be when you have a reflexive pronoun in the sentence.
Nous nous y sommes rendus.
We said that y can be roughly translated as "there," but should not be translated
literally. In English, the word “there” doesn’t necessarily need to be present in every
case. In English, you can say “I’m going,” but je vais is not a complete sentence in
French. You either need to complete the sentence by adding à + a noun, or use y, as in
j'y vais or on y va.
Y can also replace à + noun as long as that noun does not refer to a person.
Cédric aime jouer au foot. Il y joue le samedi.
Elle pense à ses devoirs. Elle y pense.
Practice using y because it will help you avoid repetition and allow you to speak more
fluidly and naturally.
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