Y An Adverbial Pronoun That Replaces Prepositional Phrases

The French adverbial pronoun y is so tiny that you might think its role in a sentence is not very important, but, in fact, quite the opposite is true. This letter is extremely important in French.  Y refers to a previously mentioned or implied place; it is normally translated as there in English.   Using Y in French In French, the letter y  usually replaces a prepositional phrase beginning with something like à  , chez, or dans  (at, in, or in),  as demonstrated in these examples, where the English sentence or sentences are followed by the French translation:   Are you going to the bank today? No, Im going (there) tomorrow.   Tu vas à   la banque aujourdhui  ? Non, jy vais demain.Were going to the store. Do you want to go (there)?   Nous allons au magasin. Tu veux y aller?He was at Jeans house. He was there.   Il à ©tait chez Jean. Il y à ©tait. Note that there can often be omitted in English, but y can never be omitted in French. Je vais (Im going) is not a complete sentence in French; if you dont follow the verb with a place, you have to say Jy vais. Use Y to Replace a Noun Y can also replace à   a noun that is not a person, such as with verbs that need à  . Note that in French, you must include either à   something or its replacement y, even though the equivalent may be optional in English. You cannot replace the noun with an object pronoun, as exhibited in the following examples: Im responding to a letter. Im responding (to it).   Je rà ©ponds à   une lettre. Jy rà ©ponds.Hes thinking about our trip. Hes thinking about it.   Il pense à   notre voyage. Il y pense. You have to obey the law. You have to obey it. Tu dois obà ©ir à   la loi. Tu dois y obà ©ir.Yes, I attended the meeting. Yes, I attended (it).   Oui, jai assistà © à   la rà ©union. Oui, jy ai assistà ©.Im going to think about your proposal. Im going to think about it.   Je vais rà ©flà ©chir à   votre proposition. Je vais y rà ©flà ©chir. In most cases, à   person may only be replaced by an indirect object. However, in the case of verbs that dont allow preceding indirect object pronouns, you can use y, as in this example: Pay attention to him.   Fais attention à   lui, Fais-y attention. Y Dos and Donts Note that y usually cannot replace à   verb, as in these examples, which show the correct way to create this construction: I hesitate to tell the truth. I hesitate to tell it.   Jhà ©site à   dire la và ©rità ©. Jhà ©site à   la dire.I continue to read Balzac. I continue to read him.   Je continue à   lire Balzac. Je continue à   le lire. Y is also found in the expressions il y a, on y va, and allons-y, which translate into English as, there is, lets go, and lets go, respectively.