# FR: en avoir marre/assez de X - construction



## vta513

Salut,

Je voulais savoir, comment est-ce qu'on dirait "j'en ai marre" mais expliquant ce dont on a marre.  Donc, certaines emissions sur la tele...pourrais-je dire "j'en ai marre, ces emissions..."

J'ai cherche les expressions mais presque toutes que j'ai vu utilisaient "en" donc je voulais savoir si on pourrait toujours ajouter "de..." en utilisant une expression comme "j'EN ai marre". 

Merci!

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads merged to create this one.


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## xtrasystole

J'en ai marre de ces émissions stupides ! 
J'en ai marre de conduire dans les embouteillages. 
J'en ai marre d'attendre chez le dentiste. 
J'en ai marre des crottes de chiens dans les rues. 
J'en ai marre de vivre ici. 
J'en ai marre d'être ici.
J'en ai marre de Paris.
J'en ai marre de toi !


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## Fred_C

Perhaps this can help :
"Marre" is an old adverb that used to mean "assez" (enough).
"En avoir marre" is exactly interchangeable with "en avoir assez". (to have enough of it)
So you can almost consider that it is not a set phrase.


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## gson

hello!
this is a sentence from 'persepolis' writtenby marjane satrapi.

"même si je savais qu'ils venaient tous me voir par amitié et gentillesse, j'*en* eus vite assez *de les recevoir* tous les jours."
(meaning.. immediately i became tired of their visit everyday.... right?)

i guess 'en' means 'de les recevoir' here, and the writer just repeated it.
right? or does this signify another one?


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## yourfairlady05

I think its like the phrase "j'en ai assez" (similar to j'en ai marre). Quite simply meaning she was fed up, she was tired of it. I think the "en" here is part of the phrase and  "de les recevoir" is completely unrelated to "en"


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## itka

> I think its like the phrase "j'en ai assez" (similar to j'en ai marre). Quite simply meaning she was fed up, she was tired of it. I think the "en" here is part of the phrase and "de les recevoir" is completely unrelated to "en"


Oui...et non. Il me semble que, dans l'expression "j'*en* ai assez" le "en" remplace une expression sous-entendue qui serait bien : "J'ai assez *de quelque chose*" et souvent, ce "quelque chose" est exprimé par une tournure d'insistance : _"J'en ai assez, de cette vie !" "J'en ai assez, de toi !" "J'en ai assez, de faire tout le ménage !"_
Ici, je crois que _"J'en ai assez, de les recevoir"_ signifie bien _"J'ai assez de les recevoir"..._


> immediately i became tired of their visit everyday


gson, I wouldn't likely translate "vite" by "immediately"... I'd say something like "soon".


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## Francophile_Down Under

Hi I'm preparing for my Oral assessment in French tomorrow, and I would like to know whether it is still necessary to put the en in j'en ai marre if you follow it with de quelque chose, in order to say "I'm sick of this and that etc". I have conflicting advice on the issue, since my French teacher says to write it as j'ai marre de quelque chose, whereas my Lyonnaise friend says you must ALWAYS keep the en regardless of what follows, that's the idiom.

Here's the context of the sentence:
"J'en ai marre de la pauvreté, de la souffrance et surtout de la faim dans notre société"


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## Notquitegenius

You have to have the "en."  I'm not sure grammatically why it is needed; I just know that it is.  Perhaps a french person can explain why.

Here's a link to a previous discussion: en avoir marre/assez/etc. de X - rôle de "en"


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## Francophile_Down Under

Thanks  for the link Notquitegenius, I guess the "en" just becomes an idiomatic thing when followed by "de quelque chose".


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## delf4

Yes, your teacher is wrong, you have to keep "en"


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## Tim~!

However:

Your teacher is the person marking your exam.

She'll be thinking to herself that the 'en' replaces the 'de' clause, and that the presence of the 'de' clause will mean that it's not needed.

If I were you I'd apply the rules.  Otherwise, you run the risk of a teacher marking you down for including the pronoun as well as the thing that it's replacing.

Irrespective of common usage, she'll be looking for application of the rules as they formally stand.

That's my opinion, anyway.


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## JWHarding

While the idiom is colloquial and as such does away with the rules, Tim is right. You run the risk of being marked down for a mistake you didn't make. If I were you, I'd place the "j'en ai marre" at the end of the sentence : "Toute cette pauvreté, cette souffrance et surtout cette faim dans notre société, j'en ai marre !".

It's both correct in use, and in theory : a good way of avoiding the problem 

By the way, if you want to use a less colloquial equivalent, use "j'en ai assez" instead.


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## lefrancophile

There's a song by Alizee called "J'en ai marre" and it has lyrics in it along the lines of:

"J'en ai marre de ceux qui pleurent..."
"J'en ai marre de ceux qui râlent..."

Play your teacher the song!


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## WordRef1

So, could one say "J'ai eu assez de ..."? I know, that's a very English way of putting it, but I thought I'd give it a try. That would probably work just the same as marre though, no?


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## itka

With this meaning, you cannot drop "en".
"_J'*en* ai assez de la pauvreté, de la souffrance et surtout de la faim dans notre société"_

Though in other contexts, it would work :
_J'ai assez de pommes <---> j'en ai assez_


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## Tim~!

I think _en avoir ras le bol_ works in the same way.

_J'en ai ras le bol de tes bêtises!_


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## Umslopogas

Logic says either or but not both - so "en" on its own  or "de quelque chose" on its own.


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## Chimel

> _En_ peut se trouver dans la même proposition que le complément qu'il remplace (et qui précède ou qui suit) *s'il s'agit d'une expression plus vive ou d'un effet d'insistance*: [...] _J'en ai assez de ces manières._


 (Hanse, Difficultés du français moderne)

Notice he doesn't speak here of an idiomatic use, with a list of set expressions, but more generally of "un effet d'insistance".

I think that this reinforcement effect has become the standard way of saying it for "En avoir assez" (and the numerous synonyms: "en avoir marre", "en avoir ras-le-bol", "en avoir jusque-là"...), so that we are no longer aware that there is a reinforcement!



itka said:


> With this meaning, you cannot drop "en".
> _"J'*en* ai assez de la pauvreté, de la souffrance et surtout de la faim dans notre société"_
> 
> Though in other contexts, it would work :
> _J'ai assez de pommes <---> j'en ai assez_


Actually, it is more subtle than that and I think Hanse's explanation (see previous page) can also help understand why it is so.

When you use "assez de" in the neutral meaning of "enough", without any sense of irritation, exasperation and so on, then you *have* the choice between the normal rule and the reinforcement.

J'ai mangé des pommes -> j'en ai mangé (normal rule)
or
Des pommes, j'en ai mangé! (reinforcement)

Similarly:
J'ai assez de pommes -> j'en ai assez
or
Des pommes, j'en ai assez ! (reinforcement: you're not fed up with apples, you just state, with some strength, that the quantity is now enough for you, like: _Oui, ça va, comme ça j'en ai assez (pour faire ma compote)_.

*But*:
if you want to say "I have enough of it" in the meaning "I'm fed up", then you only can use the reinforcement form:
Les pommes, j'en ai assez !
or
J'en ai assez, des pommes !

By the way: this is a *very* subtle difference not many non-francophone people are aware of, if you ask me...


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## telletubby

Hi. I understand that when I say _j'en ai marre_. it means I'm fed up with it - the 'en' being the equivalent of 'of it.'

But when I say _J'en ai marre d'être tout seul_ it seems to me that the pronoun 'en' is superfluous, yet we still say it. Why isn't it _J'ai marre d'être tout seul? _


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## Lacuzon

Bonjour,

It's an excellent question ! I think that the correct expression is_ avoir marre de quelque chose_ and not _en avoir marre de quelque chose_. But j'en ai marre became so common that we do not hesitate to add a de to  en avoir marre. Pleonastic, according to me but so usual...

Any others opinions?


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## Zirael

Hi,

I've found on the web few negative questions in French and I'm not quite sure if I understand their complete meaning. What I mean is:

1. N'as-tu pas faim? - aren't you hungry? - it's ok

BUT

2."N'en as-tu pas assez de vivre et revivre toujours les mêmes histoires (...)" - why this "en"? Could I say it without it? 

thanks in advance


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## Keith Bradford

It's a set phrase "en avoir assez" = _to have had enough of (doing) something, to be fed up with (doing) something..._


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## Zirael

Yeah I know that  I just thought that if you actually name all the things after "assez", you don't need to put "en".  J'ai assez de vivre et revivre... and you put en when you say "j'en ai assez" (vivre etc). I didn't know that you can put both elements in one phrase...


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## breagadoir

Your logic is logical Zirael but even if you quote the sources of irritation after you still need to use the set phrase of 'j'en ai assez'.
_J'en ai assez; oui j'en ai assez de ce monde.
_


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## Zirael

OK thank you very much


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## jamesjaime

I've heard phrases of the type:

_J'*en *ai marre *d*'attendre!!!_

or 

_J'*en* ai assez *de* cela!!_

Now, I know that "en" is a pronoun meaning "of it". But why is it included here, because the "of + ..." part is already mentioned? In other words, shouldn't it just be "_J'*en* ai marre"!_ or "_J'ai marre *d*'attendre"? _Not both?

I've seen it in other constructions as well, with the "en" and the "de + noun/clause" pieces used together, and I really don't understand!

Why are they both used?


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## atcheque

Bonjour,

In French, _*en *avoir marre_, is a set phrase, you just have to use it this way  even if adding a complement with _*de*_.


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## Fred_C

atcheque said:


> In French, _*en *avoir marre_, is a set phrase, you just have to use it this way  even if adding a complement with _*de*_.


Je suis d’accord.
Et je suis en total désaccord avec ce qu’a dit ce sombre personnage :


Fred_C said:


> Perhaps this can help :
> "Marre" is an old adverb that used to mean "assez" (enough).
> "En avoir marre" is exactly interchangeable with "en avoir assez". (to have enough of it)
> So you can almost consider that it is not a set phrase.


C’était moi, il y a quelque temps !


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## Jonapedia

Salut!

Je ne suis pas francophone de souche, mais voici ce que je propose:

On voit assez souvent cet _en _"indéfini" en français, en particulier dans les expressions figées comme celle-ci. Je crois qu'il remplace le petit quelque chose qui manque, ce dont on a besoin pour compléter le sens. Ici, je pense qu'il signifie le truc (une qualité etc.) qui fait le déplaisir de l'individu concerné.

Par ex., "J'en ai assez des pommes de terre!" Ben, les pommes de terre ne sont pas fâcheuses en soi, non? Donc, il faut que, pour lui, les pommes de terres aient de quoi le gêner, ce qui ne serait ni très bien défini ni précisément exprimé verbalement.

Qu'en pensez-vous, les autres?


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## vta513

Bonjour a tous, 

Je suis tres desolee parce que je viens de recevoir un email disant que j'ai recu des reponses a ma question de 2007! Je vous remerci a tous, tres en retard, pour toutes les explications.


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## Dupon

France 3 a été critiquée par le rapport du CSA sur sa ligne éditoriale et sur l’absence de réformes de France 3 Région. En avez-vous marre du France 3 bashing?

Why here "en" is put in the 1st position in a question?
Why it is not: Avez-vous en marre du France 3 bashing?



Thanks!


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## atcheque

Bonjour,

Le pronom objet précède le verbe (ou l’auxiliaire) :
_*En *avez-vous marre (de...) ? 
*L'*avez-vous vue ? etc.
*Y* pensez-vous ?_


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## Maître Capello

The phrase is redundant since there is both _en_ and _de_ but it is actually quite common.

See also FR: Elle n'en veut plus de moi.


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## atcheque

Bonjour,

Redundant?
Would you really say : _J'ai marre de faire le ménage _?


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## Maître Capello

I meant grammatically redundant, which doesn't mean the phrase is incorrect.


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## Lacuzon

Presque : faire le ménage, j'en ai marre !


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