The pronoun en
Summary
The pronoun en replaces "de + something" and stands in for quantities, meaning "some", "of it/them", or "about it"; it always goes before the verb.
Explanation
Use en to replace a noun introduced by the partitive or indefinite du / de la / de l' / des (Tu veux du café ? Oui, j'en veux) and to replace a complement built with de after verbs and expressions such as parler de, avoir besoin de, avoir envie de (J'en ai besoin = I need it / some). Like every object pronoun, en stands immediately before the conjugated verb or its infinitive.
en is also the pronoun of quantity. When a number or a quantity word is involved, the noun disappears but the amount stays at the end of the clause: J'en ai trois (I have three of them), J'en veux beaucoup (I want a lot), Combien de frères as-tu ? J'en ai deux. English often drops the object entirely ("I have three"), but French must keep en.
There is a clear division of labour with the other pronouns. en covers de + thing, while à + thing is normally replaced by y (Je pense à mon travail → j'y pense). For de + a specific person, French usually keeps a stressed pronoun instead of en: Je parle de Marie → Je parle d'elle, not j'en parle.
Watch agreement and negation. A past participle does not agree with en, so write Des pommes ? J'en ai acheté (not achetées). In the negative, ne … pas wraps the en + verb block: Du gâteau ? Non, je n'en veux plus. With the near future or modals, en sits before the infinitive: Je vais en prendre.
Common pitfalls: leaving the object unexpressed as in English ("Yes, I want" → wrong; Oui, j'en veux), and forgetting the quantity at the end (J'en ai trois, not just J'en ai when a number is meant). Also keep en distinct from the preposition en (en France, en train), which is a different word entirely.
Rule of thumb: if you can rephrase the idea as "de + noun", a partitive, or a counted quantity, replace it with en before the verb, leave any number at the end, and do not make the participle agree.
Examples
Tu as des frères et sœurs ? Oui, j'en ai deux. — Do you have any siblings? Yes, I have two (of them). (The quantity deux stays at the end of the clause.)
Du gâteau ? Non merci, je n'en veux plus. — Some cake? No thanks, I don't want any more. (en replaces du gâteau; ne … plus wraps the block.)
J'ai besoin de ce dossier. — Tu en as besoin maintenant ? — I need this file. — Do you need it now? (en replaces de + thing in avoir besoin de.)
Des pommes ? J'en ai acheté ce matin. — Apples? I bought some this morning. (No agreement: acheté, not achetées, with en.)
Je vais en prendre un peu. — I'm going to take a little (of it). (Before an infinitive, en precedes it.)
Common mistakes
Tu veux du café ? Oui, je veux.
Tu veux du café ? Oui, j'en veux.
French cannot leave the object unexpressed the way English drops it ("Yes, I want some"). When the noun is introduced by du / de la / des, a number, or a quantity word, it must be picked up by en before the verb: j'en veux, j'en ai trois, j'en veux beaucoup.
Prerequisites
Related rules
pronounsenquantitypartitive