Why no EN?

JamieB2Kwiziq community member

Why no EN?

In the sentence, encountered in a novel:

Il ouvrait un petit bar, y prenait une bouteille et deux verres.

Why "y"?  This seems to be a perfect example of "de plus location", as he is taking the bottle from a place.

Can someone elucidate, please"

Much obliged!

Asked 4 years ago
TomC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Jamie,

Thé French construction for taking something from somewhere confusingly does not use  "de" but instead uses "dans", hence the use of "y" in your   example. E.g. Il a pris la bouteille dans le frigo. - He took the bottle from the fridge.

Hope this helps,

Tom

JamieB2Kwiziq community member

I am obliged to you yet again, Tom, for introducing me to another French construction.  I already have to work mightily to remember:

 " "y" can replace locations introduced by the following prepositions: à, sur, chez, dans ".  

Now I get to learn all the idiomatic uses for à, sur chez, and dans!  

I'm sure there's a good dictionary of such idioms out there somewhere.  Can anyone suggest one?

Jamie

Why no EN?

In the sentence, encountered in a novel:

Il ouvrait un petit bar, y prenait une bouteille et deux verres.

Why "y"?  This seems to be a perfect example of "de plus location", as he is taking the bottle from a place.

Can someone elucidate, please"

Much obliged!

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...