Y and en are pronouns, but instead of replacing a person, they replace a place, or a quantity. Like the other pronouns, they go right before the conjugated verb.
1. Y: replacing a place
| Tu vas à Paris ? → Tu y vas ? | Are you going there? |
| Elle habite chez ses parents. → Elle y habite. | She lives there. |
2. Y: replacing à + a thing (not a person)
For people, you'd use lui/leur (see our indirect object pronouns lesson); for things, French uses y instead.
| Je pense à ce problème. → J'y pense. | I'm thinking about it. |
| Il répond à l'email. → Il y répond. | He's replying to it. |
3. EN: replacing de + a thing, or a quantity
| As-tu besoin de pain ? → Tu en as besoin ? | Do you need some (of it)? |
| Elle a des pommes. → Elle en a. | She has some. |
| Combien de livres as-tu ? → J'en ai trois. | I have three (of them). |
4. Watch out: il y en a
Two pronouns, one sentence: y and en can stack together, most often in il y a (there is/are). Il y a du café ? → Oui, il y en a. (Yes, there's some.) The order is always y before en.
5. Quick reference
| y | a place, or à + a thing |
| en | de + a thing, or a quantity |
| il y en a | there is/are some |