En is an indirect object pronoun that is used to replace 'de + noun' if the noun is not a person.

en
=
de
+
thing
place
idea
animal
(expressed as a noun)

En replaces masculine and feminine, singular and plural nouns, without changing.

En is useful because it is used to replace 'de + noun' in a whole variety of situations, even though the purpose or meaning of 'de' may be different.


Partitive articles

En is used to replace a noun with an indefinite or partitive article ('du, de l', de la, un, une, des'):

Tu veux un café ? Oui, j'en ai besoin !
                                  (= J'ai besoin d'un café.)
(Do you want a coffee? Yes, I need one!)

Vous avez du fromage ? Oui, j'en ai.
                                  (=J'ai du fromage)
(Do you have any cheese? Yes, I have some.)


Quantities

En is used to replace de used with quantities:

Est-ce que tu as mes CD de Youssou Ndour ? Oui, j'en ai deux.
                                                                       (= J'ai deux de tes CD.)
(Do you have my CDs of Youssou Ndour? Yes, I have two of them.)

Vous avez du vin rouge ? Oui, j'en ai trois bouteilles.
                                           (= J'ai trois bouteilles de vin rouge.)
(Do you have any red wine? Yes, I have three bottles.)

Notice how, when a quantity is specified (trois bouteilles), French always requires an en, even though English doesn't require anything. In French, you always have to specify what you have three bottles of. If this is understood from the context (and in this case 'vin rouge' was mentioned in the question, so it is understood), you nonetheless have to include an en.

Possession

En is used to indicate possession:

Tu as vu le dernier film de Cédric Klapisch ?
          Non, mais j'en ai vu la bande annonce...
                      (= J'ai vu la bande annonce du dernier film...)
(Have you seen the latest film by Cédric Klapisch?
          No, but I've seen the preview (of it)...
           No, but I've seen its preview...)

(In this case en indicates the identity of the bande annonce: it is the one that belongs to Klapisch's latest film.)

...et la description en est très intéressante.
            (=la description de ce film)
(...and the description of it is very interesting.
...and its description is very interesting.)


'De' as a preposition

En is also used to replace 'de + noun' where 'de' is a preposition. There are certain verbs that are always followed by 'de + noun' which will use en very frequently. These include: parler de (to speak of/about), se souvenir de (to remember), penser de (to think of (in terms of opinion)), avoir besoin de (to need).

Est-ce que vous vous souvenez de l'assassinat de JFK ?
           Oui, je m'en souviens comme si c'était hier.
                       (= Jje me souviens de l'assassinat de JFK.)
(Do you remember the assassination of JFK?
           Yes, I remember it as if it were yesterday.)

Il dit qu'il n'aime pas la politique, mais il en parle toujours pendant le dîner.
                                                     (= Il parle toujours de la politique.)
(He says he doesn't like politics, but he's always talking about it at the dinner table.)

Tu as vu la pyramide du Louvre ? Qu'est-ce que tu en penses ?
                                       (= Qu'est-ce que tu penses de la pyramide du Louvre ?)
(Have you seen the Louvre pyramid? What do you think of it?)

 


y