By the end of this lesson you'll be able to say where you are, where you're going and where you come from, and you'll be comfortable with five more useful prepositions.
Cities and countries
You know many of these countries from the lesson on countries and nationalities. The little word in front of a place depends on what kind of place it is.
| Place | "in" or "to" | "from" |
|---|---|---|
| a city | à | de (or d') |
| a feminine country, or any country starting with a vowel | en | de (or d') |
| a masculine country starting with a consonant | au | du |
| a plural country | aux | des |
These forms come from what you learned in the lesson on à and de with articles.
J'habite à Nantes.
I live in Nantes.
Elle est en Italie.
She's in Italy.
Nous allons au Japon.
We're going to Japan.
Ils travaillent aux États-Unis.
They work in the United States.
As a rule of thumb, a country ending in -e is usually feminine: la France, l'Italie, l'Espagne. A few aren't, and you'll need to learn them. The best known are le Mexique, le Cambodge, le Mozambique and le Zimbabwe: au Mexique.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le Mexique | luh mek-SEEK | Mexico |
| le Portugal | luh por-tew-GAHL | Portugal |
| les Pays-Bas | lay pay-ee-BAH | the Netherlands |
Regions, American states and islands follow other patterns, and you can learn those as you meet them.
Coming from
To say where someone comes from, use venir with de, d', du or des.
Je viens de Bruxelles.
I come from Brussels.
Tu viens de France ?
Do you come from France?
Elle vient d'Espagne.
She comes from Spain.
Il vient du Portugal.
He comes from Portugal.
Nous venons des Pays-Bas.
We come from the Netherlands.
With an infinitive, venir de means something else: "to have just done". You'll find that in the lesson on the recent past and actions in progress.
Dans
Dans means "in" or "inside". It's used with an article and a place or a container.
Je suis dans la rue.
I'm in the street.
Le téléphone est dans le sac.
The phone is in the bag.
À la maison and dans la maison are close in meaning. À la maison means "at home", and dans la maison puts more stress on being inside the house.
Chez
Chez means "at the home of" or "at the place of". It goes with a person, or a person's place of work.
Je vais chez Paul.
I'm going to Paul's.
Elle est chez le médecin.
She's at the doctor's.
You've already seen chez moi and chez lui in the lesson on stressed pronouns.
Avec, sans, pour
Avec means "with", and sans means "without". After sans, there's no article with a general idea.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| pour | poor | for, in order to |
| sans sucre | sahn SEW-kruh | without sugar |
| sans problème | sahn proh-BLEM | without any problem |
Un café sans sucre, s'il vous plaît.
A coffee without sugar, please.
Je voyage avec des amis.
I'm travelling with friends.
Pour means "for". It can show a purpose, a destination or a person who receives something.
Ce cadeau est pour toi.
This present is for you.
Je suis ici pour apprendre.
I'm here to learn.
C'est le train pour Lyon.
It's the train to Lyon.
En français
- Tu viens d'où ? (Where do you come from?)
- Je viens du Canada. Je suis à Lille pour travailler. (I come from Canada. I'm in Lille to work.)
- Tu vas au Québec cet été ? (Are you going to Québec this summer?)
- Non, je vais aux États-Unis, chez ma sœur. (No, I'm going to the United States, to my sister's.)
What's next
Next, the lesson on the futur simple helps you talk about future trips. Later, the lesson on the francophone world puts these prepositions to use around the globe.