black friday
Save 40% on all Premium packages cyber monday

Using "en" when expressing quantity

Joanne H.B2Kwiziq community member

Using "en" when expressing quantity

In this question, the sentences are, "I have only two horses. He has twelve." My question concerns the second sentence. The sentence reads, "Il a douze," and is translated as "He has to horses." Wouldn't an "en" be necessary, "he has two of them," referring back to the previous sentence?

This question relates to:French lesson "Forming the plural of French nouns ending in -al"
Asked 5 years ago
Like0Answer1
Share
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Are you referring to this sentence?

Tu as un cheval ? - Non, j'ai deux chevaux.

If so, then the second sentence doesn't need en because it repeats the object (chevaux). However, you could say J'en ai deux. In this case, en refers back to cheval in the first sentence.

-- Chris.

Like15 years ago
Share
Joanne H. asked:View original

Using "en" when expressing quantity

In this question, the sentences are, "I have only two horses. He has twelve." My question concerns the second sentence. The sentence reads, "Il a douze," and is translated as "He has to horses." Wouldn't an "en" be necessary, "he has two of them," referring back to the previous sentence?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

« Why is "Il lui envoie deux mille roses". "He set HER" 2000 roses. Could it not also mean he sent HIM?Venir de + négatif »
Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Clever stuff happening!