Kilo Lingo
Part of Chapter 5

CEFR A1-A2

4 min read

Test yourself (25 questions)

French Prepositions

A small set of prepositions does most of the work in French. This page covers the eight you need at Foundation tier and the two grammar rules that govern them.

The core eight

PrepositionCore meaningExample
àto, at à
of, from Londres
in, by (transport) , train
in (inside)
on table
under lit
at someone's (house) ,
with

The basics. À and carry the most semantic weight and the most grammar (the contractions), so they get their own section below.

The mandatory contractions

When à or meets the masculine singular definite article or the plural definite article , they contract. The contractions are required, not optional.

  • à + le = : au cinéma, au restaurant, au parc
  • à + les = : aux enfants, aux États-Unis, aux marchés
  • de + le = : la fin du film, la maison du voisin
  • de + les = : les jouets des enfants, les chambres des hôtels

The contractions only apply to and . À , à l', , l' stay as they are:

  • à (to the pool)
  • à l' (at school)
  • (of the kitchen)
  • l' (of water)

Note that and here are preposition + article, the same form as the partitive du / des but a different function. Context disambiguates.

à vs en with places

The rule for places is fiddly but firm.

Cities: always à.

  • à , à Madrid, à Tokyo, à Londres

Countries: for feminine countries and countries starting with a vowel, for masculine-consonant countries, for plurals.

  • , Italie, Espagne, Iran, Inde (feminine or vowel)
  • Japon, Canada, Portugal, Mexique (masculine + consonant)
  • -, Pays-, Philippines (plural)

Most country names ending in -e are feminine (la France, l'Italie). The big exceptions are Mexique, Mozambique, Cambodge, Zaïre - masculine despite the -e.

The same prepositions cover both "in" and "to". (I'm going to France) and j' (I live in France) use the same .

"From" with countries and cities

For "from", use with feminine countries and cities, with masculine countries, with plural countries.

  • . (I'm from Paris.)
  • . (I'm from France - feminine.)
  • Japon. (I'm from Japan.)
  • -. (I'm from the US.)

The contraction rule is the same as everywhere else.

en vs dans

Both translate roughly as "in", but they cover different ground.

  • is mostly idiomatic and indefinite: en France, en train, en vacances, en hiver.
  • is concrete and points to a specific container: dans la maison, dans la voiture, dans la boîte.

A useful rule of thumb: doesn't take an article after it (en France, not "en la France"); does (dans la voiture, dans le jardin).

chez

is the prepositional shortcut English doesn't have. It means "at the place of" - someone's home, a shop owned by them, a profession's premises.

  • (at my place / at home)
  • (at Marie's)
  • (at the doctor's)
  • coiffeur (at the hairdresser's)
  • (at our place; also: in our country / culture)

Always followed by a person (name, pronoun, profession). Never followed by a building noun - l' is wrong; the right form is à l'.

Worked examples

  • cinéma . (I'm going to the cinema with my friends.)
  • à . (She has been living in Paris for ten years.)
  • table . (The book is on the table in the kitchen.)
  • parents Portugal. (My parents are from Portugal.)
  • . (Tomorrow I'm going to the doctor's.)
  • , partons Italie. (In summer, we go on holiday to Italy.)

Common mistakes English speakers make

Writing à or when the rule forces or : à cinéma is wrong, it's cinéma. Using instead of for countries: is wrong, it's . And translating "at the doctor's" with à instead of : à is wrong on two counts (it should be both and contracted to if it were a location).

See also

Practise: test yourself

Fill in the blank

0/9

Fill the gap with the right preposition or contraction (à, de, en, dans, sur, sous, chez, avec, au, du).

  1. Le livre est la table. (on)

  2. Le chat dort le lit. (under)

  3. Demain je vais le docteur. (at the doctor's)

  4. Je vais cinéma. (à + le) (à + le)

  5. Mes parents viennent Portugal. (de + le) (de + le)

  6. Je vais Paris cet été. (always à before a town)

  7. Le livre est la cuisine. (inside)

  8. Je voyage mes parents. (with)

  9. C'est le livre enfants. (de + les) (de + les)

Pick the right one

0/8

Choose à (cities) or en (feminine countries / countries starting with a vowel) for each place.

  1. Elle habite Paris.

  2. Nous partons vacances ___ Italie.

  3. Je vais Madrid cet été.

  4. Ils voyagent France.

  5. Mes parents habitent Espagne.

  6. Nous allons Londres cet été.

  7. Elle habite Londres.

  8. Je passe mes vacances Italie.

Translation drill

0/8

Translate into French, using the right preposition and the mandatory contractions where French forces them.

  1. I am going to the cinema with my friends.

  2. The book is on the table in the kitchen.

  3. My parents are from Portugal.

  4. In summer, we go on holiday to Italy.

  5. The cat is sleeping under the bed.

  6. She lives in Paris with her parents.

  7. Tomorrow I'm going to the doctor's.

  8. The cat is in the kitchen.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is it 'au cinéma' and not 'à le cinéma' in French?
French contracts the prepositions à and de with the masculine and plural definite articles. À + le becomes au (au cinéma), à + les becomes aux (aux enfants), de + le becomes du (la maison du voisin), and de + les becomes des (les jouets des enfants). The contractions are mandatory. They only apply to le and les; à la and à l' stay as they are (à la piscine, à l'école).
When do I use 'à' versus 'en' for a country?
Countries take en when they're feminine or start with a vowel (en France, en Italie, en Iran), and au when they're masculine and start with a consonant (au Japon, au Canada, au Portugal). Plural country names take aux (aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas). For cities, always use à (à Paris, à Madrid, à Tokyo). The same prepositions cover both 'in' and 'to' - 'je vais en France' (I'm going to France) and 'j'habite en France' (I live in France) use the same en.