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### The Invariable Participle with "en"

When a direct object comes before a verb in a compound tense, the past participle usually agrees with it. However, if that preceding direct object is the pronoun **en** (meaning "some" or "of it/them"), the past participle is **invariable**. It stays in its base masculine singular form, no matter what noun **en** is replacing.

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Even though *noix* and *épices* are feminine plural, *haché* and *ajouté* do not take an **-es** because the direct object is **en**.

### Specific Quantities and Portions

When cooking, you often pair **en** with specific numbers or measurements at the end of the sentence to say exactly how much of an ingredient you used.

Even when **en** is accompanied by a quantity (like *trois* or *beaucoup*), or a feminine noun of measurement (like *une douzaine* or *une pincée*), the rule does not change: the past participle remains invariable.

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Past participles with quantities (en)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the leek	le poireau
to peel	éplucher
Leeks? I peeled three of them.	Des poireaux ? J'en ai épluché trois.
the frying pan	la poêle
to stir	remuer
This is the frying pan that I need to stir the leeks.	C'est la poêle dont j'ai besoin pour remuer les poireaux.
the walnut	la noix
to chop	hacher
Walnuts? I chopped some for the cake.	Des noix ? J'en ai haché pour le gâteau.
the pinch	la pincée
the spice (f)	l'épice (f)
Could you add a pinch of this spice?	Tu pourrais ajouter une pincée de cette épice ?
the olive (f)	l'olive (f)
Olives, I chopped a dozen of them.	Des olives, j'en ai haché une douzaine.
the spoonful	la cuillerée
I do not think that he wants a spoonful of this spice.	Je ne pense pas qu'il veuille une cuillerée de cette épice.
Spices? I added some in the frying pan.	Des épices ? J'en ai ajouté dans la poêle.
Walnuts and olives, I bought a lot of them.	Des noix et des olives, j'en ai acheté beaucoup.
I would like the same frying pan as you.	J'aimerais la même poêle que toi.
Salt? I added a pinch of it.	Du sel ? J'en ai ajouté une pincée.
Could you peel the carrots?	Tu pourrais éplucher les carottes ?
I added two spoonfuls of it and I stirred.	J'en ai ajouté deux cuillerées et j'ai remué.