What is the function of "-y" after a word?

Question

I've found this phrase in one of my games, but I don't know what is the "-y" for

"Affectez-y 10 citoyens pour produire des matériaux de construction."

If you could provide us with more context, it'd be easier. It refers to a place most likely. If there are any instructions previous to that, it's probably referring to placing 10 citizens/villagers in the place where you can produce construction materials. — Nicholas J., Jun 23 '16 at 05:59
In the english version it asks me to place 10 workers in this scierie , also found this other phrase: "Le niveau de la scierie détermine le nombre maximal de travailleurs pouvant y produire des ressources."
is it saying "the maximum of workers that can work HERE"? — José Osorio, Jun 23 '16 at 06:02
Yes. "Y" basically means à + un lieu. "Le niveau de la scierie détermine le nombre maximal de travailleurs qui peuvent produire des ressources à la scierie." — Nicholas J., Jun 23 '16 at 06:09
You helped me a lot, if you wish the points, put it as an answer. thx gl — José Osorio, Jun 23 '16 at 06:21
No problem. But you might find this question helpful and I believe yours has been already answered there: http://french.stackexchange.com/questions/66/quelle-est-la-diff%C3%A9rence-entre-les-pronoms-en-et-y — Nicholas J., Jun 23 '16 at 06:30

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 17 '20 at 09:38

-y is used to avoid repetition by referring to a previously mentioned entity.

Construisez une usine.

Affectez-y 10 citoyens pour produire des matériaux de construction.

Here -y refers to une usine mentioned in the previous sentence. So the sentence means:

Affectez à l'usine que vous avez construite 10 citoyens pour produire des matériaux de construction.

In English this would be:

Build a factory.

Assign it 10 citizens to produce building materials.

In English this it has the same usage as -y does in French.

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 17 '20 at 09:38

Y is a pronoun.

In your case, y replaces a noun or a noun group introduced by à or its derived forms (aux, au), because the verb affecter (to appoint or to assign, in this context) is used with the à in French.

Affectez 10 citoyens à cette tâche pour produire des matériaux de construction.

The exception to this rule is when the noun is a person.

J'écris à ma mère. → Je lui écris.

Je pense à mon père/ma mère. → Je pense à lui/à elle.

Y should be placed before the verb, but in your example there is an inversion because of the use of the "impératif". Y is therefore placed after the verb with a hyphen for the link.

Note: y is also used to replace a location (introduced by chez, dans, sur, à…), but this is not your case.

What is the function of "-y" after a word?

2 Answers2