# FR: I get by in it (language)



## CuriousFrench

*I’ve been learning *French for seven years and * I get by in it*

J'apprends le français depuis sept ans et je m'en débrouille


----------



## snarkhunter

Hello, and welcome to this forum!

I would put it:
"J'apprends le français depuis sept ans et je me débrouille (_avec / dans cette langue_)"

_"... je m'en débrouille"_ would be just wrong.


----------



## CuriousFrench

Thank you for both the welcome and the response!


----------



## snarkhunter

... You're welcome.

But considering things again, I'm not sure "je m'en débrouille" would actually be _that wrong_. I'd like to hear from other members about this.


----------



## CuriousFrench

I really appreciate your help. I was thinking if you would literally translate the 'in it' part in English but in French, they don't always use pronouns...


----------



## Julien-FR

snarkhunter said:


> But considering things again, I'm not sure "je m'en débrouille" would actually be _that wrong_. I'd like to hear from other members about this.



I also find it sounds very odd. First time I read or hear it actually.


----------



## guniang

well I am not a native speaker, but I think one could also say: 
J'apprends le français depuis sept ans et je  *m'en sors* [s'en sortir]

Could a native speaker voice his opinion on this?


----------



## snarkhunter

Yes, "je m'en sors" would definitely work here. Congratulations on thinking of this.


----------



## Stéphane89

snarkhunter said:


> But considering things again, I'm not sure "je m'en débrouille" would actually be _that wrong_. I'd like to hear from other members about this.



It sounds wrong to me as well.


----------



## jekoh

Pour « je m'en débrouille », voir cette discussion : Je m'en débrouille


----------



## Ageoff

Je m'en débrouille, ce n'est pas fréquent, mais correct.
On l'utilise beaucoup plus au futur :
Je m'en débrouillerai...


----------



## JClaudeK

snarkhunter said:


> _"... je m'en débrouille"_ would be just wrong [here] .


+ 1
"Je m'en débrouille" doesn't fit here.
See


petit1 said:


> je m'en débrouille = j'en fais mon affaire



Je m'en débrouille =  j'en fais mon affaire ~ je vais régler ça


It's just
_J'apprends le français depuis sept ans et _maintenant_ je me débrouille_ (_in it _=> en français).


----------



## guniang

snarkhunter said:


> Yes, "je m'en sors" would definitely work here. Congratulations on thinking of this.


thank you


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

"je me défends"?


----------



## JClaudeK

"je me défends/ je m'en sors" are both possible but, IMO, "je me débrouille" is the  most common way to say it.


----------



## DearPrudence

I also prefer "je me débrouille".
To me, "je me défends" is rather an understatement when you're quite good at something but don't want to brag. Also, I would rather use it for sports, games, or competition in general, rather than for a language.


----------



## Keith Bradford

And how about_* je m'y débrouille*_?   Here _y_ would mean_ en anglais_, which logically calls for a pronoun of location.


----------



## Ageoff

At the question _Tu te débrouilles en anglais ?_ (that is correct), the answer _Oui, je m'y débrouille_ doesn't mean anything in french.
One can answer : _Oui_, or _Oui, je me débrouille_, or _Oui, je me débrouille en anglais_, but never_ Oui, je m'y débrouille..._


----------



## Keith Bradford

Well, never...  There are numerous occurrences on the Web, but I take your word for it that they're incorrect.  I'm not at all surprised.

But my surmise was logical, wasn't it? _ Vas-tu *en *Angleterre ?  Oui, j'*y* vais._ And they say the French language is logical...


----------



## JClaudeK

Keith Bradford said:


> But my surmise was logical, wasn't it? _ Vas-tu *en *Angleterre ?  Oui, j'*y* vais._ And they say the French language is logical...



C'est comme si un francophone s'étonnait qu'on puisse utiliser (par exemple) "by" dans des situations aussi differentes que

We were amazed *by *what she told us.
&
I'll be back *by *five o'clock.

*'y' *n'est pas seulement  un "pronoun of location".


----------



## Ageoff

Keith Bradford said:


> But my surmise was logical, wasn't it? _ Vas-tu *en *Angleterre ? Oui, j'*y* vais._ And they say the French language is logical...



To propose _Je m'y débrouille_ was logical, yes, but the result wasn't.
_en Angleterre_ is a place, so_ y_ is OK.
But _en anglais_ isn't a place.

Tu vas en Ecosse ? Oui, j'y vais 
Tu achètes en gros (you buy in bulk) ? Oui, j'y achète


----------



## trellis

_Vas-tu *en *Angleterre? - do you go *to* England? - yes I go there  
Tu te débrouilles en anglais ?  - Do you get by *in* English? yes I get by there_


----------



## brookter

Just a matter of interest, though (and fully accepting that you don't write 'je m'y débrouille'), what about phrases such as 'je n'y crois pas' or 'il faut y penser': the rule of thumb being that you use 'y' with verbs followed by 'à' and 'en' with 'de'. i.e. It's not just location, but a grammatical construct.

Yet 'se débrouiller à' is good French, isn't it — which may be why the non-native speakers here thought 'je m'y dèbrouille' was a possibility.


----------



## Ageoff

brookter said:


> what about phrases such as 'j'y crois' or 'il faut y penser' — which are justified, I've been told, because you put 'y' with verbs followed by 'à'.


Yes, you're right.




brookter said:


> 'se débrouiller à' is good French, isn't it



No, it'sn't. On se débrouille *en*, ou on se débrouille *pour*.


----------



## JClaudeK

Ageoff said:


> brookter said:
> 
> 
> 
> 'se débrouiller à' is good French, isn't it
> 
> 
> 
> No, it isn't.
Click to expand...



"se débrouiller en + noun" is a set phrase. (here, "en + noun" can't be replaced by "y")


----------



## jekoh

Je me débrouille *à* la guitare


----------



## Ageoff

Oui, exact.
J'avais cherché vainement un exemple.
Et on peut également dire _je me débrouille *au* tennis_...

Mais toujours pas de _je m'y débrouille_.


----------



## tartopom

Welcome CuriousFrench.

Depending on the context we can also use another preposition. That is 'avec". 
J'espère que je vais me débrouiller avec les quelques mots que je connais en espagnol. 
But I think if I say ' Je vais me débrouiller avec l'Espagnol' then I refer to the / a Spaniard and not the language.


----------

