Paul rêve de Paris ; il y pense chaque jour.

Paul

Breakdown of Paul rêve de Paris ; il y pense chaque jour.

• il: he
• le jour: the day
• chaque: every, each

Questions & Answers about Paul rêve de Paris ; il y pense chaque jour.

Why does rêver require de in rêver de Paris?

The verb rêver is always followed by de when talking about dreaming of something. It’s a fixed construction: rêver de + noun (or + infinitive verb).

Why is there no article before Paris (e.g., de la Paris or du Paris)?

In French, most city names are proper nouns and don’t take an article. So you simply say Paris, not le Paris or la Paris.

What does the pronoun y replace in il y pense?

Here y replaces the phrase à Paris. So il y pense literally means “he thinks about it,” with it standing for Paris.

Why is y placed before the verb pense instead of after?

French clitic pronouns (like y) always come immediately before the conjugated verb in simple tenses. Hence il y pense, not il pense y.

What’s the difference between penser à and penser de?