Breakdown of Voici le livret de famille, nous en avons besoin.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
la famille
the family
en
in, to
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
voici
here is, this is
avoir besoin de
to need
le livret
the booklet
Questions & Answers about Voici le livret de famille, nous en avons besoin.
Why is en used here instead of le to say 'we need it'?
Why does en go before avons rather than before besoin?
en is an object pronoun, and in French, object pronouns are placed directly before the conjugated verb. Here, the conjugated verb is avons, while besoin is actually a noun meaning 'need'. Therefore, the pronoun must go right before avons.
If we needed a person instead of a book, would we still use en?
Usually no. The pronoun en is mainly used to replace things or ideas introduced by de. If you want to say 'we need him', you keep the preposition de and add a stressed pronoun at the end of the sentence: nous avons besoin de lui.
What exactly is a livret de famille?
It translates to 'family record book'. In France and several other French-speaking countries, it is a very common official government document issued to a couple when they get married or have their first child. It is used to record important legal family events like births, marriages, and deaths.
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