The pronoun of place (y)
To avoid repeating a location, French uses the adverbial pronoun y, meaning "there" or "to it." It replaces places introduced by prepositions like à (to/at), sur (on), or dans (in).
Like other pronouns you have learned, y is placed directly before the conjugated verb.
| I am going to the campus today and I am staying there. | Je vais au campus aujourd'hui et j'y reste. |
| The lecture is starting, are you going there? | Le cours commence, tu y vas ? |
| The professor is present at the lecture and the students are there too. | Le professeur est présent au cours et les étudiants y sont aussi. |
Using "y" with infinitives
When a sentence contains an infinitive verb—such as when you use pour (in order to) or a verb like vouloir (to want)—y changes its position. It goes directly before the infinitive it belongs to.
| Are you going to the cafeteria to study there? | Vous allez à la cafétéria pour y réviser ? |
| I am going to the cafeteria, do you want to eat there with me? | Je vais à la cafétéria, tu veux y manger avec moi ? |
Campus life and "assister à"
As you talk about university life, you will often use the verb assister à (to attend). Notice that in French, you don't just "attend" a class, you "attend to" it!
| to attend | assister à |
| They cannot attend this presentation this morning. | Ils ne peuvent pas assister à cet exposé ce matin. |
You can seamlessly combine your new campus vocabulary with y to describe your activities.
| This semester, I am present on the campus and I attend a lecture there. | Ce semestre, je suis présent sur le campus et j'y assiste à un cours. |
| I like this campus and I study there often during the semester. | J'aime ce campus et j'y révise souvent pendant le semestre. |
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