Language/French/Grammar/Use-of-en-with-numerals-and-quantifiers
It is important to use en when numerals [deux, trois, une dizaine, une douzaine, etc.) and quantifiers (beaucoup, trop, la plupart, etc.) are on their own after a verb.
In English a pronoun is normally absent in these cases, but in French en is obligatory:
- J'ai acheté une douzaine de roses
I bought a dozen roses
- Il a commandé une douzaine d'huîtres
He ordered a dozen oysters
- J'en ai acheté une douzaine
I bought a dozen
- Il en a commandé une douzaine
He ordered a dozen
- Elle produit beaucoup de documents
She produces a lot of papers
- J'ai acheté dix roses
I bought ten roses
- Elle a cueilli plusieurs tomates
She picked several tomatoes
- Elle en produit beaucoup
She produces a lot
- J'en ai acheté dix
I bought ten
- Elle en a cueilli plusieurs
She picked several
- Le comité avait demandé certains manuscrits
The committee had asked for selected manuscripts
- Le comité en avait demandé certains
The committee had asked for selected Ones
Note that quelques 'some, a few' belongs to this group, but when en is present quelques becomes quelques-un(e)s:
- On voyait quelques voiles au loin
We could see some sails in the distance
- On en voyait quelques-unes au loin
Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: Possessive determiners, Omission of the article, Summary table of articles & Agreement of past participles with preceding direct objects in questions.
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Pronominal Verbs Agreement
- Difference between meilleur and mieux
- An adjective agreeing with nouns linked by de
- Order of multiple pronouns with imperatives
- Conjugation group 3
- Subjunctive Mood
- Cardinal Numbers — When to use figures and when to use words
- Changes in the stem form of some —er conjugation verbs
- Nouns which exist only in plural form
- Verbs with personal subject used impersonally
- subjects objects pronouns
- Adjectives used as nouns
- Use of il, ce, cela and ça as impersonal pronouns
- Use of il ils and elle elles
- Subjunctive versus indicative in clauses dependent on a superlative adjective