French Prepositions
A2
Most common French prepositions and their usage
à — Direction, Location, Time
| Usage | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Going to a place | Je vais à Paris. | I'm going to Paris. |
| Being at a place | Il est à la maison. | He's at home. |
| At a time | À quelle heure ? | At what time? |
| To someone | Je parle à Marie. | I'm speaking to Marie. |
Tip: Think of à as roughly equivalent to English "to" or "at."
de — Origin, Possession, Material
| Usage | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Coming from | Je viens de Lyon. | I come from Lyon. |
| Possession (of) | Le livre de Pierre. | Pierre's book. |
| Material | Une robe de soie. | A silk dress. |
Tip: Think of de as roughly equivalent to English "from" or "of."
en vs. dans — Both Mean "in," but...
| Preposition | Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|
| en | Countries / months / years / transport | en France, en mars, en voiture |
| dans | Specific places / "in [time] from now" | dans la salle, dans 5 minutes |
Rule of thumb: en is for abstract or broad contexts; dans is for concrete, bounded spaces or a future time span ("in 5 minutes").
Prepositions with Countries and Cities
| Type | Preposition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Cities | à | à Paris, à Montréal |
| Feminine countries | en | en France, en Chine |
| Masculine countries | au | au Canada, au Japon |
| Plural countries | aux | aux États-Unis |
| Islands | à | à Cuba, à Madagascar |
How to tell gender: Countries ending in -e are usually feminine (exceptions: le Mexique, le Mozambique, le Cambodge).
pour vs. par
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| pour | For / in order to (purpose) | C'est pour toi. (It's for you.) |
| par | Through / by (means, passive voice) | Par la fenêtre. (Through the window.) |
Exam tip: In passive sentences, the agent is introduced by par: Le gâteau est fait par Marie. (The cake is made by Marie.)
Common Prepositional Phrases
| French | English |
|---|---|
| à côté de | next to / beside |
| en face de | across from / opposite |
| au-dessus de | above |
| au-dessous de | below |
| à cause de | because of |
| grâce à | thanks to |
| au lieu de | instead of |
| près de | near |
| loin de | far from |