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Don't drop 'en' from these everyday expressions

French has a handful of very common expressions where the little word en is built into the phrase itself. In je m'en vais (I'm leaving), j'en ai marre (I'm fed up) or je t'en prie (you're welcome), en doesn't translate any English word. It isn't standing in for of it or some. It is simply part of the expression, the way up is part of give up.

English speakers tend to drop it because nothing in the English sentence seems to call for it. The result, je vais or j'ai marre, either means something else or sounds broken to a French ear. The fix is to learn these expressions as whole blocks, with en included.

Word list
je t'en prieA2 you're welcome je t'en prie = you're welcome je vous en prieA2 you're welcome je vous en prie = you're welcome s'en allerA2 to leave je m'en vais = I'm leaving en valoir la peineB1 to be worth it ça en vaut la peine = it's worth it en avoir assezB2 to be fed up j'en ai assez de toi = I'm fed up with you en avoir marreB2 to be fed up j'en ai marre = I'm fed up en venir au faitB2 to get to the point venons-en au fait = let's get to the point s'en sortirB2 to get away with tu vas t'en sortir = you'll manage s'en tirerB2 to get away with il s'en est bien tiré = he came through it well
How it works

Normally en replaces something mentioned earlier: Tu veux du pain ? Oui, j'en veux. In the expressions below, there is often nothing earlier for it to replace. The en has frozen into the phrase, and the phrase has its own meaning. Compare aller (to go) with s'en aller (to leave, to go away), or sortir (to go out) with s'en sortir (to manage, to come through).

Il est tard, je m'en vais.
(It's late, I'm off.)

When learning these expressions, think of en as a fixed piece. It behaves like any object pronoun: it sits right before the verb, after the other pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous), and before the auxiliary in compound tenses.

The words
Leaving and coping

s'en aller means to leave or go away. It is a reflexive verb, so you get two pronouns: je m'en vais, tu t'en vas, elle s'en va. The command form is the famous va-t'en.

Laisse-moi tranquille, va-t'en !
(Leave me alone, go away!)

s'en sortir and s'en tirer both mean to manage, to get through a difficult situation, or to get away with something. s'en tirer is slightly more informal. Add avec to say what you came out with.

Ne t'inquiète pas, tu vas t'en sortir.
(Don't worry, you'll manage.)
Il a eu un accident, mais il s'en est tiré avec quelques bleus.
(He had an accident, but he got away with a few bruises.)
Being fed up

en avoir assez and en avoir marre both mean to be fed up. marre is familiar and very common in speech. Without en, j'ai assez just means I have enough of something countable. To name what you are fed up with, add de, and keep en anyway.

J'en ai assez de ce bruit.
(I've had enough of this noise.)
Franchement, j'en ai marre de travailler le samedi.
(Honestly, I'm fed up with working on Saturdays.)
Worth it, getting to the point

en valoir la peine means to be worth it. en venir au fait means to get to the point and is most often heard as venons-en au fait or viens-en au fait.

C'est difficile, mais ça en vaut la peine.
(It's difficult, but it's worth it.)
On n'a pas beaucoup de temps, venons-en au fait.
(We don't have much time, let's get to the point.)
Politeness

je t'en prie and je vous en prie are polite replies to thanks, like you're welcome or don't mention it. Use je t'en prie with someone you say tu to, and je vous en prie otherwise. Never say je te prie here.

Merci pour votre aide ! Oh, je vous en prie.
(Thank you for your help! Oh, you're welcome.)

You'll also meet s'en vouloir (to blame yourself), which works the same way.

Watch out
Compound tenses and negation

en stays glued to the other pronoun and comes before the auxiliary. With s'en aller, the auxiliary is être, so the participle agrees. In the negative, ne goes before both pronouns and pas goes after the verb.

Quand je suis arrivé, elle s'en était déjà allée.
(When I arrived, she had already left.)
Non, je ne m'en vais pas tout de suite.
(No, I'm not leaving right away.)
Not every en is equally fixed

s'en aller, s'en sortir, en avoir marre and je t'en prie always keep en. With en valoir la peine, en is needed when the sentence stops at la peine, but it disappears when you say what is worth doing with de + infinitive. Likewise, venir au fait exists without en, but the everyday form with en is what you'll hear most.

Ça vaut la peine d'essayer.
(It's worth trying.)

The typical mistake is the opposite one, though: saying ça vaut la peine alone, or je vais when you mean I'm leaving. When in doubt, keep the en.

Summary

In expressions like s'en aller, s'en sortir, en avoir marre, ça en vaut la peine and je t'en prie, en doesn't translate anything in English. It is part of the expression. Learn each one as a block, place en right before the verb and after me, te, se, and don't leave it out just because English has no word for it.