Question 1

Why do we say je m'en occupe instead of je me l'occupe since la recherche is feminine?

Accepted Answer

In French, you have to look at the preposition the verb uses. The verb is s'occuper de (to take care of). Because it is followed by de, we replace the whole phrase (de la recherche) with the pronoun en. Direct object pronouns like le or la are only used when there is no preposition involved.

Question 2

How do we know what order to put the pronouns in for m'en occupe?

Accepted Answer

With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, etc.) always comes right before the pronoun en. Here, me plus en contracts to form m'en because en starts with a vowel.

Question 3

Can I use en if I am taking care of a person instead of a thing?

Accepted Answer

Generally, no. The pronoun en is mainly used to replace de plus inanimate objects and concepts. If you are taking care of a person, you keep the preposition de and use a stressed pronoun. For example, to say I take care of him, you would say je m'occupe de lui, not je m'en occupe.

Question 4

Why does the question use t'occupes while the answer uses m'en occupe?

Accepted Answer

In the question, the object (de la recherche) is stated explicitly at the end, so we do not need the pronoun en. The reflexive pronoun te just contracts with the verb to make t'occupes. In the answer, we add en to replace the object, so the reflexive pronoun me contracts with en instead, making m'en.

Est-ce que tu t'occupes de la recherche ? Oui, je m'en occupe.

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