In this grammar lesson you will learn how to use y in French.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- how y can replace there
- how y can replace à + thing
- how y is used in French in sentences
- how to quiz yourself on how to use y in French
- how to practice with flashcards for how to use y in French
- how and why you should use the courses of Language Atlas to learn French
Please refer to the French A2 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about how this fits in the overall structure of French A2.
By the end of the lesson you will know all about how to use y in French!
Table of Contents
Y replaces: There
The pronoun “y” can be used to replace the word “there”.
When people are talking to each other, they may talk about a location.
Instead of repeating the location, people will just say “there”, or in this case “y”.
I have highlighted both the location and y in blue, so you can see how to use y in French.
Je vais à l’école. – J’y vais.
I am going to school. – I am going there.
Tu vas au bureau plus tard ? – Oui, j’y vais à 17 heures.
Are you going to the office later? – Yes I am going there at 17:00.
Annabelle est-elle arrivée à Londres hier ? – Oui, elle y est arrivée hier.
Did Annabelle arrive in London yesterday? – Yes, she arrived there yesterday.
Nous allons en France. Nous y allons.
We are going to France. We are going there.
Vous allez chez lui ? Oui, j’y vais !
Are you going to his place? Yes, I am going there!
Combien de fois vont-ils chez Clara ? Ils y vont tous les samedis.
How often do they go to Clara’s house? They go there every Saturday.
As you can see, every time that you use “there”, you can replace it with “y”.
There is one expression which is an exception.
You cannot use “y” to replace de + a place. You have to use “en” to replace de + place.
Est-ce qu’elle vient de l’université ? Oui, elle en vient.
Is she coming from the university? Yes, she is coming from there.
Y replaces: à + Thing
“Y” can also replace a thing introduced by à.
This is often the case with certain verbs that are followed by à.
When this happens, you have to replace à + (noun) group with y.
penser à
Je pense à mon nouveau téléphone portable. – J’y pense.
I am thinking about my new mobile phone. – I am thinking about it.
réfléchir à
Alexandra réfléchit à ses problèmes. Elle y réfléchit.
Alexandra is thinking about her problems. She is thinking about them.
assister à
Nous allons assister à cette réunion. Nous allons y assister.
We are going to attend this meeting. We are going to attend it.
penser à
Vous pensez au jeu vidéo. – Vous y pensez.
You are thinking about the video game. – You are thinking about it.
s’intéresser à
Ils s’intéressent aux trains. Ils s’y intéressent.
They are interested in trains. They are interested in them.
Please note that au, aux,à l’, andà la also are accounted in this rule.
Also note that people are NOT counted as things.
For people, we have the indirect object pronouns (lui and leur) as well as the other indirect object pronouns (me, te, nous, vous).
Sentences Overview of How to use Y in French
The final section of this lesson on how to use y in French is about seeing the pronoun in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding on how to use y through examples.
Hear you can see all of the sentences of the previous chapter, neatly stored in one place.
Je vais à l’école. – J’y vais.
I am going to school. – I am going there.
Tu vas au bureau plus tard ? – Oui, j’y vais à 17 heures.
Are you going to the office later? – Yes I am going there at 17:00.
Annabelle est-elle arrivée à Londres hier ? – Oui, elle y est arrivée hier.
Did Annabelle arrive in London yesterday? – Yes, she arrived there yesterday.
Nous allons en France. Nous y allons.
We are going to France. We are going there.
Vous allez chez lui ? Oui, j’y vais !
Are you going to his place? Yes, I am going there!
Combien de fois vont-ils chez Clara ? Ils y vont tous les samedis.
How often do they go to Clara’s house? They go there every Saturday.
penser à
Je pense à mon nouveau téléphone portable. – J’y pense.
I am thinking about my new mobile phone. – I am thinking about it.
réfléchir à
Alexandra réfléchit à ses problèmes. Elle y réfléchit.
Alexandra is thinking about her problems. She is thinking about them.
assister à
Nous allons assister à cette réunion. Nous allons y assister.
We are going to attend this meeting. We are going to attend it.
penser à
Vous pensez au jeu vidéo. – Vous y pensez.
You are thinking about the video game. – You are thinking about it.
s’intéresser à
Ils s’intéressent aux trains. Ils s’y intéressent.
They are interested in trains. They are interested in them.
Quiz Yourself on How to use Y in French
At the end of every lesson you can do a small quiz.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
It is up to you to give the correct answer.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want.
How to Practice With Flashcards for This Lesson
Using flashcards is an absolute necessity when it comes to learning a language!
It is the best way to memorize what you learn, you can personalize your progression because it adapts to your actions, and all flashcards have audio to improve your hearing and pronunciation.
Please read our article on how to learn a new language for more information on flashcards and the best way to learn a new language.
There are two ways to practice with Flashcards for this lesson.
- Anki
- The Flashcards in our Courses
Anki is a free software with which you can create and practice flashcards.
After you have downloaded Anki, you can get our French A2 Anki Deck.
This Anki Deck contains 3,816 flashcards with which you can practice absolutely everything for French A2.
All the flashcards have text, images, explanations, and audio.
You can also use our courses that have flashcards integrated alongside lessons with audio, quizzes and much more!
However, I am sure you are wondering, what are your courses, and why should I take them?
The Courses of Language Atlas
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