Module 08: Chez moi
Troisième Partie: La fête, la grammaire
In this section:
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Passé composé of pronominal verbs
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The pronoun “en”
Passé composé of pronominal verbs
A pronominal verb is a verb which has a reflexive pronoun, that is, a pronoun referring back to its subject. These verbs are easily recognized by the pronoun se before the infinitive: se lever, se laver, se promener, etc.
Formation
In the passé composé, pronominal verbs are conjugated with être as their auxiliary. Past participles of pronominal verbs are formed like nonpronominal past participles. Note that the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) precedes the auxiliary.
| s’amuser ‘to have fun’ | |
| je me suis amusé(e), I had fun | nous nous sommes amusé(e)s, we had fun |
| tu t’es amusé(e), you had fun | vous vous êtes amusé(e)(s), you had fun |
| il / on s’est amusé, he / one had fun | ils se sont amusés, they had fun |
| elle s’est amusée, she had fun | elles se sont amusées, they had fun |
Past participle agreement
It is important to note that, in most cases, the past participle of pronominal verbs agrees in gender and number with the gender and number of the reflexive pronoun, that is, an e is added to the past participle to agree with a feminine subject and an s is added for a plural subject.
| Sophie: Je me suis réveillée très tôt ce matin. | Sophie: I got up really early this morning. | |
| Louis: Moi, je me suis réveillé très tard! | Louis: I got up really late! |
Past participle agreement: exceptions
The past participle does not agree if there is a direct object following the verb which is a part of the body:
| Marie: Je me suis lavée, et ensuite je me suis lavé les cheveux. | Marie: I washed, and then, I washed my hair. | |
In the second example, the direct object les cheveux is placed after the verb, so there is no agreement.
Furthermore, in cases where the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object rather than a direct object, as in the verb se parler (parler à), there is no agreement.
| Marie: Puis, Sophie et moi, nous nous sommes parlé. | Marie: Then, Sophie and I talked to each other. |
Negation
In the negative, the ne precedes the reflexive pronoun and the pas follows the auxiliary:
| je ne me suis pas amusé(e) | nous ne nous sommes pas amusé(e)(s) |
| tu ne t’es pas amusé(e) | vous ne vous êtes pas amusé(e)(s) |
| il / on ne s’est pas amusé | ils ne se sont pas amusés |
| elle ne s’est pas amusée | elles ne se sont pas amusées |
| Sophie: Bonjour Louis! Oh là là! Tu ne t’es pas rasé ce matin? | Sophie: Hi Louis! Oh dear! You did not shave this morning? | |
| Louis: Mon réveil n’a pas sonné! Je me suis réveillé trop tard. | Louis: My alarm clock did not go off! I woke up too late. | |
| Sophie: Louis s’est levé du pied gauche aujourd’hui! | Sophie: Louis got up on the wrong side of the bed today! |
The Pronoun “en”
Uses
En is a pronoun that typically replaces de + a noun; this includes nouns introduced by partitive or indefinite determiners (de, du, de l’, de la, des). En may be translated as ‘some’, ‘any’, or ‘not any’.
| Marie, Edouard et Aiden sont à table. | Marie, Edouard and Aiden are eating. | |
| Aiden: Edouard, tu veux de la soupe? | Aiden: Edouard, do you want some soup? | |
| Edouard: Oui, merci. Elle est délicieuse. | Edouard: Yes, thank you. It is delicious. | |
| Marie: Il y a du vin? | Marie: Is there any wine? | |
| Aiden: Oui il y en a. Tu en veux? | Aiden: Yes, there is some. Would you like some? |
In a similar fashion, en replaces a noun introduced by a number or an expression of quantity. Notice that the equivalent of en is not always expressed in English, although en must still be used in the French sentence:
| Aiden: Edouard, tu as assez de pain? | Aiden: Edouard, do you have enough bread? | |
| Edouard: Oui, merci, j’en ai assez. | Edouard: Yes, thank you, I have enough (of it). | |
| Marie: Tex, tu veux un peu de pain? | Marie: Tex, do you want a little bread? | |
| Aiden: Non, merci, je n’en veux pas. J’en ai encore une tranche. | Aiden: No, thank you, I do not want any. I still have a slice (of it). |
En also replaces expressions introduced by the preposition de with the following verbs:
- s’occuper de, to deal with
- parler de, to speak of
- remercier de, to thank for
- revenir de, to return from
- venir de, to come from
| Marie: Alors Edouard, comment s’est passée ton interview au restaurant? | Marie: So Edouard, how did your interview at the restaurant go? | |
| Edouard: J’en reviens tout juste! C’était dégoûtant. | Edouard: I’ve just returned from it! It was disgusting. | |
| Marie: Tu veux en parler? | Marie: Do you want to talk about it? | |
| Edouard: Tu sais bien que j’ai envie de gagner plus d’argent, j’en ai vraiment besoin, mais restauration ! Jamais ! | Edouard: You know that I want to earn more money. I really need some (money), but food service! Never! |
Note that a disjunctive pronoun is used with these verbs to replace expressions when the object of the preposition de is a person rather than a thing.
Placement
Placement of en is the same as direct and indirect pronoun objects. En precedes the verb it refers to, except in the affirmative imperative. In compound tenses (such as the passé composé), it precedes the auxiliary verb. Note that there is no agreement between en and the past participle, since en does not replace a direct object. When en is used with il y a (‘there is, there are’), it comes between y and a: Du pain sur la table? Il y en a (Some bread on the table? There is some there.)
| Aiden: De nouveaux poèmes? Ne m’en parle pas! | Aiden: Some new poems? Don’t talk to me about them. | |
| Louis: Mais si, parlons-en. | Louis: But yes, let’s talk about them. | |
| Aiden: Je n’en ai pas écrit depuis longtemps et je ne vais plus en écrire. Ma muse m’a quitté et je n’ai plus d’idées. | Aiden: I haven’t written any for a long time and I’m not going to write any more. My muse has left me and I don’t have any more ideas. | |
| Louis: Mais si tu en as. Elles sont bizarres, tes idées, mais tu en as beaucoup quand même. | Louis: But yes, you have some (ideas). Your ideas are strange, but you have a lot of them nevertheless. |
