FR: s'en dépêtrer

[queenkatherine__]

I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not getting irritated at this point. Just when you think that you know en and y you come across this: Ma plus jeune sœur, Mary, a été touchée par le péché originel et semble ne pas pouvoir s’en dépêtrer.
It's not dépêtrer de or introduced by un. So, why is en there?

 

[Bezoard]

Precisely, it IS se dépêtrer de, but the "de" is hidden and included in "en" which means "DE cela".
Other examples of the same construction.
J'ai pris l'habitude de boire et je ne peux pas m'en défaire (se défaire de).
Il a eu peur lors de l'accident mais il s'en est bien tiré (se tirer de).

 

[queenkatherine__]

Oh, okay, that makes sense when you read things, but how will I know then when to use en instead of le?...

 

[olivier68]

The same way you did for English: when learning a new verb (I mean its conjugation) you also have to learn how
to build its complement(s) ;-)
Example in English: to look, to look at..., to look for...

 

[queenkatherine__]

Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks!