j'y crois / je le crois

Question

I was watching an interview with Amira Casar on Cinéma & Moi, and the host asked her, "Qu'est-ce que vous aimeriez voir au cinéma plus souvent?" She answered, "Des scènes d'amour réussies... souvent c'est trop prude...c'est trop...il y a draps....j'y crois pas." I guess my question is, why j'y crois pas here instead of je le crois pas? Can both be used there? Does j'y crois pas mean something different from je le crois pas? (I don't believe it, don't believe them, it's not believable???)

Accepted Answer

This is an interesting question Gregory and the answer is rather subtle.
If you were talking about a single event ( excluding 'le' representing a person) you might use 'le' -
Il a volé dans un magasin, j'ai du mal à le croire = He stole in a shop, I find it hard to believe (it).
But in the example you quote, it is the whole situation which she finds unreal so 'y croire' is used.
So, it is more to believe in something which you can't replace with a single sentence.
Le réchauffement climatique, j'y crois fermement = Global warming ,  I believe in it totally 
Hope this helps!

Answer

Not sure if it is the explanation here, but despite all the rules, there are regional differences in the use of the pronoun ‘y’. Geraldine from “commeunefrançaise” described this type of usage in one of her lessons as being common, for instance around Grenoble and the Alpes, région where she now resides.

Answer

Je crois à cela. -> j'y crois -- I believe it. This expresses that you believe some fact to be true. I hear this used most often if someone agrees with something. It's kind of idiomatic."Je le crois" can mean two things, depending on whether "le/la" refers to a person or not.Je connais Pierre. Je le crois. -- I know Pierre. I believe him.Je connais Anne. Je la cois. -- I know Anne. I believe her. Je le crois. -- I believe it. Used as an alternative to j'y crois. Here, "le" is used as the neutral "it" and not the masculine direct object pronoun.Je lui crois does not exist, because the verb croir uses the person or matter one believes as the direct object and not the indirect object.Croir can also be used as croir en qqc -- to believe in something.Je croir en lui/elle. -- I believe in him/her.