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What are the prepositions of place in French?

By: Agnés Finot Fri Aug 30 2024
French
Prepositions

The prepositions of place in French include words such as à(at, to), dans(in), sur(on), en(in), de(from, of), chez(at), devant(in front of), derrière(behind), and à côté de(next to). In French, like in English, prepositions of place are used to say where something or someone is in relation to other things.

Sometimes, French prepositions of place will share similar meanings but depend on context. For example, do you want to know why we say, J’habite aux Etats-Unis (I live in the United States) but J’habite en France(I live in France)?

In this post, we’ll review the prepositions of place in French, beginning with the common preposition à(at, to). Then, we’ll look at prepositions used to express where you’re living, going, and coming from, as well as the preposition chez(at) and French prepositions used to describe where something or someone is. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

    How to use the prepositions ‘à’ and ‘de’ in French?

    Use the French preposition à with places to describe where someone or something is heading “to” or where it is “at,” and use the preposition of place de to discuss where someone or something is “from.”

    You can use à in combination with the verb aller(to go) to say “going to” or with être(to be) to say "to be at...," but you will use de instead with the verbs venir(to come) and arriver(to arrive). The French prepositions à and de are some of the most used and versatile prepositions!

    À and de are prepositions that form a contraction with French definite articles. Because à and de contract with some definite articles, the prepositions can have four different forms, depending on the gender (masculine or feminine) of the French noun or the number (singular or plural) of the French noun that follows. The possible forms of à and de with a definite article can be seen below:

    Definite article
    Preposition of place + article
    (à / de+ article)
    Example

    la- feminine, singular noun

    la pharmacie(drugstore),
    la bibliothèque (library)

    à la

    Je vais à la piscine.

    I’m going to the swimming pool.

    de la

    Il vient de la bibliothèque.

    I’m coming from the library.

    le- masculine, singular noun

    le supermarché (supermarket),
    le magasin de fleurs(flower shop)

    au

    (= à + le)

    Je suis au musée.

    I’m at the museum.

    du

    (= de + le)

    Nous venons du supermarché.

    We are coming from the supermarket.

    les- plural noun
    (masculine or feminine)

    les toilettes(restroom),
    les magasins(shops)

    aux

    (= à + les)

    Il va aux courses de chevaux.

    He’s going to the horse races.

    des

    (= de + les)

    Tu viens des magasins après avoir chercher un cadeau.

    You are coming from the shops after looking for a gift.

    • l'- with a noun (masculine or feminine)
      starting with a mute h or a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, y

    l’université(university),
    l’hôpital (hospital)

    à l’+ mute h or a, e, i , o, u, y

    Nous sommes à l’hôtel.

    We are at the hotel.

    de l’+ mute h or a, e, i , o, u, y

    Vous venez de l’université.

    You are coming from the university.

    Now that you’ve seen how to form these contractions with à and de, let's take a look at how to use both, along with dans and en, to discuss where someone lives or is located, where they’re going, and where they are coming from.

    How to use French prepositions of place with geographical places?

    Use French prepositions of place with geographical names of countries, regions, and cities to say where you live, where you’re going, and where you come from. For geographical locations such as these, you will choose from the prepositions à, de, dans, and en, combined with verbs indicating your direction (whether you are living in, going to, or coming from this place). Choosing the right preposition of place for a given geographical place (such as the city of Paris or the country of Cambodia, etc.) depends on a variety of factors.

    Take a look at the steps below to help you select the right preposition of place to use with a geographical location:

    • Step 1: What type of geographical place are you describing? A town, a city, a region, a state, a continent, an island?

      • You will use à and de/d’ with towns, cities, and islands of any gender.

      • For regions, countries, states, and continents, you will need to look at the gender and number to choose between à, de/d’, dans, and en.

    • Step 2: What is the gender, number, and starting letter of the geographical location in your sentence?

      • The gender and number of each type of geographical place will also impact which preposition you use. Sometimes you will use à and de (often as contractions with a definite article), and other times you will use dans or en. Once you have identified the type of place you are describing, you’ll need to recognize the gender and number of that place to pick your preposition.

      • Pay attention, too, to the starting letter of the geographical name. Locations beginning with a vowel may require the preposition d' instead of de.

    • Step 3: Determine what type of direction of movement you are describing. Are you “in” or “going to” the location? Or are you “coming from” this place?

      • Use à(and its contractions), dans, and en to say you are "at" a place or going "to" a place.

      • Use de (and its contractions) when you are coming "from" somewhere.

    For a summary of how to use prepositions of place with geographical locations, check out the table below:

    Type of location
    (incl. gender)
    Movement is “going to” or “being at”
    Movement is “coming from”
    Preposition
    Examples
    Preposition
    Examples

    town, city, and island (masculine or feminine)

    à

    J’habite à Marseille.

    I live in Marseilles.

    venir + de / d’

    (+vowel)

    Vous venez d’Albertville ?

    Do you come from Albertville?

    masculine singular country

    au

    Ils voyagent au Maroc.

    They travel to Morocco.

    venir + du

    Tu viens du Canada.

    You come from Canada.

    masculine singular region, state

    dans le

    On habite dans le Wisconsin.

    We live in Wisconsin.

    venir + du

    Nous venons du Jura.

    We come from Jura.

    feminine region, state, country, and continent*,
    masculine country beginning with a vowel

    en

    J’habite en Allemagne.

    I live in Germany.

    venir + de

    Nous revenons d’Europe.

    We are coming back from Europe.

    Il voyage en Iran.

    He is traveling to Iran.

    venir + d’

    (+vowel)

    Tu arrives d’Italie ?

    Are you traveling from Italy?

    plural country, island

    aux

    Je déménage aux Etats-Unis.

    I am moving to the USA.

    venir + des

    Elle vient des Seychelles.

    She comes from Seychelles.

    plural region, state

    dans les

    Je vais en vacances dans les Pyrénées.

    I am going on vacation to the Pyrenees.

    venir + des

    (+vowel)

    Vous venez des Pyrénées ?

    Do you come from the Pyrenees?

    TIP*

    In doubt about the gender of a country? Keep in mind that around 80 percent of nouns ending in -e are feminine in French. All continents are also feminine!

    Exception!

    These five countries are masculine, despite the fact that they end in -e:

    • le Bélize

      Belize

    • le Cambodge

      Cambodia

    • le Mexique

      Mexico

    • le Mozambique

      Mozambique

    • le Zimbabwe

      Zimbabwe

    Can you guess which prepositions they will use? Au(to go, to be in), and du(to come from), that's right!

    Important

    Venir de / arriver de can be used with other non-geographical locations, like places in the house or a shop: le bureau(the office), la gare(train station), le salon(family room).

    Cette boîte en carton vient du garage.

    This cardboard box comes from the garage.

    Check out our learning resource for more examples of how to use the French prepositions à, en, dans, and de with geographical locations. You'll also find a list of all of the US states with their proper French prepositions of place!

    How do you use the French preposition ‘chez’?

    Use the preposition chez to say that you are going to or are currently at someone’s home. An English speaking friend of mine once read the words " chez Martin" on an invitation. He assumed the host's first name was "Chez." In reality, the host’s name was Martin and the invite was giving the location: “at Martin’s home.” So, learn your prepositions so you won’t call someone the wrong name!

    Important

    If the place you’re going to is the home or the business of a person, use chez.

    Let’s take a look at some examples:

    • Bienvenue chez moi !(Welcome to my house!) Use chez(at) when you are at or when you're going to somebody's place or house.

      Je vais à la maison.

      I’m going home.

      Je vais chez moi.

      I’m going home.

      Je vais chez ma maison.

    • You can also use chez with other locations, such as le coiffeur(the hairdresser).

      Je suis chez le coiffeur.

      I’m at the hairdresser.

      Je suis au salon de coiffure.

      I’m at the hair salon.

      Je suis au coiffeur.

      However, in Francophone countries, you will sometimes still hear people say, Je suis/vais au coiffeur. But don’t tell them it’s grammatically wrong, because they could get offended!

    Before we wrap up, we’ll review some additional prepositions of place that you can use to locate people, animals, and things in space.

    What are some additional French prepositions of place?

    In addition to the prepositions we have seen above, there are more French prepositions of place that can be used to describe the position or location of someone or something. To help describe where something is in a space, you can use prepositions like dans(in), sur(on), sous(under), devant(in front of), derrière (behind), and à côté de(next to), among others.

    Imagine you are trying to tell someone where an object or person is located. You will use the following French prepositions of place similarly to how you might use the English prepositions. Take a look:

    dans(in)

    A cup of coffee on a rustic wood table

    Le café est dans la tasse.

    The coffee is in the cup.

    sur(on)

    A laptop sits on a white cafe table with some other work materials.

    L'ordinateur portable est sur le bureau.

    The laptop is on the desk.

    sous(under)

    A young child in pajamas with curly hair smiles from under an outdoor table

    L’enfant est sous la table.

    The child is under the table.

    devant(in front of)

    A chair sitting in front of a fashionable desk with a large Apple monitor

    La chaise est devant le bureau.

    The chair is in front of the desk.

    derrière(behind)

    A sunset view looking across a river (and a bridge) toward the Eiffel Tower

    La tour Eiffel est derrière le pont.

    The Eiffel tower is behind the bridge.

    à côté de(next to)

    A white chair sits beside a large basket

    Le panier est à côté de la chaise.

    The basket is next to the chair.

    Exception!

    The translation of prepositions of place from French to English is not always perfectly the same. For example, “in” cannot always be translated by dans and "on" cannot always be translated with sur.

    If you are “in town,” you would say, Je suis dans ville. Je suis en ville.(I'm in town.)
    The same goes with "on the train": Je suis sur le train → Je suis dans le train.(I’m on the train.)

    For more prepositions of place in French, check out our full list of prepositions and prepositional phrases!

    Before we wrap up, let’s take a look at a couple of adverbs of place versus their corresponding prepositions of place, as this difference can be confusing for French learners.

    • Dedans(inside, in, indoors) is an adverb, so it cannot be used with a complement. The preposition dans(in, inside) must be used with a noun complement to explain what someone or something is in:

      dedans + 🚫

      inside, in, indoors

      dans + complement

      in, inside

      Je suis dans la maison.

      I’m in the house.

      Je suis dedans.

      I’m inside. I’m in. I’m indoors.

      Je suis dedans la maison.

    • Like above, the adverb dehors(outside) cannot be used as a complement, but the preposition hors de(outside of) must be accompanied by a noun.

      dehors + 🚫

      outside

      hors de + complement

      outside of

      Le magasin est situé hors de la ville.

      The shop is situated outside of the city.

      Matilda joue dehors.

      Matilda plays outside.

      Matilda joue dehors la ville.

    Here are a few final reminders when using prepositions of place:

    • dans(in) à(at)

      À is more common when you want to say where you are. Using dans is more precise and indicates that you are inside a building.

      Je suis à la gare.

      I’m at the train station.

      → You might be on a platform, in front of the station, or inside the building.

      Je suis dans la gare.

      I’m inside the train station.

      → You could only be inside of the train station if you said this.
    • Prepositional phrases with de:

      For all prepositional phrases with de, like en face de (opposite), près de(near), à gauche de(on the left of), de always still contracts with the article (le or les) of the noun that follows.

      de + le du

      La piscine est près du supermarché.

      The swimming pool is near the supermarket.

      de + les → des

      Le magasin de sport est à gauche des massifs de fleurs.

      The sports shop is on the left of the flowerbeds.

      Now you should be a French prepositions of place expert! Let’s recap what you’ve learned.

    Let’s recap

    Just like in English, make use of French prepositions of place to give someone’s or something’s location. Keep the following in mind:

    • À and de sometimes form contractions with the definite article of the noun they precede.

    • With geographical locations, you’ll need to consider the type of location, the gender, number, and starting letter of the location, and which direction you’re going in when choosing the correct preposition.

    • Use chez for someone’s home or business.

    • Other useful prepositions of place like dans, sur, sous, devant, derrière, à côté de, hors de, en face de, près de, and à gauche de can be used to situate someone or something in space.

    Now that you’ve got this covered, why don’t you practice your knowledge with our exercises on French prepositions of place!

    Or, if you are particularly interested in French prepositions of time, we have you covered in a separate article!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    What are the prepositions of place in French~ Prepositions of place tableWhat are the prepositions of place in French~Activities

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