Language/French/Grammar/Use-of-en-with-numerals-and-quantifiers

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

Related Lessons

• 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