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Learn How to Use These Common French Prepositions
You will find yourself using the prepositions deand àin French often as you learn the language. Prepositions are words that connect two parts of a sentence. In French, they usually goin front of nouns or pronounsto show a relationship between thatnoun/pronoun and another word that precedes it.
Depending on usage, the de and à meaning in French can be entirely different or the same. Because of this nuance, knowing when to use which preposition is a common source of confusion for many French students, but this lesson will teach you the difference. By the end of it, you should be comfortable with how verbs interact withàandde.
Àvs. De: French Prepositions
The French prepositionsàanddecan cause constant problems for students. Generally speaking, theàmeaning in French is "to,""at," or "in," whiledemeans "of" or"from." Both prepositions have numerous uses and to understand each better, it is best to compare them.
- Learn more about the prepositionde.
- Learn more about the prepositionà.
À | De | ||
---|---|---|---|
Location or destination | Starting point or origin | ||
Je vais à Rome | I'm going to Rome | partir de Nice | to leave from (out of) Nice |
Je suis à la banque | I'm at the bank | Je suis de Bruxelles | I'm from Brussels |
Distance in time or space Note that à is used in front of the distance, while de indicates the starting point/origin. | |||
Il habite à 10 mètres... | He lives 10 meters... | ...d'ici | ...from here |
C'est à 5 minutes... | It's 5 minutes away... | ...de moi | ...from me |
Possession | Possession / belonging (Learn more) | ||
un ami à moi | a friend of mine | le livre de Paul | Paul's book |
Ce livre est à Jean | This is Jean's book | le café de l'université | the university café |
Purpose or use | Contents / description | ||
une tasse à thé | teacup (cup for tea) | une tasse de thé | cup of tea |
une boîte à allumettes | matchbox (box for matches) | une boîte d'allumettes | box (full) of matches |
un sac à dos | backpack (pack for the back) | un roman d'amour | love story (story about love) |
Manner, style, or characteristic | Defining feature | ||
fait à la main | made by hand | le marché de gros | wholesale market |
Il habite à la française | He lives in the French style | une salle de classe | classroom |
un enfant aux yeux bleus | blue-eyed child | un livre d'histoire | history book |
Defining ingredient - Food | Indispensable ingredient - Food | ||
Use à when the food is made with something that can be taken away without destroying it—as a general rule, you can translate it as "with." In the following examples, if you take out the ham or onion, you still have a sandwich or soup. | Use de when the food is made primarily of something—generally speaking, you can translate it to "of" or "from." In the following examples, if you take away the blackcurrants or tomatoes, you're left with not much at all. | ||
un sandwich au jambon | ham sandwich | la crème de cassis | blackcurrant liqueur |
la soupe à l'oignon | onion soup | la soupe de tomates | tomato soup |
une tarte aux pommes | apple pie | le jus d'orange | orange juice |
Impersonal expressions: Real subject | Impersonal expressions: Dummy subject | ||
C'est bon à savoir. | That's good to know. | Il est bon d'étudier. | It's good to study. (Studying is good) |
C'est facile à faire. | That's easy to do. | Il est facile de le trouver. | It's easy to find it. (Finding it is easy) |
Additional Uses of À in French
The use ofàis not limited to the examples above. Here are two more instances in which you will want to use this preposition.
Measurement | |
acheter au kilo | to buy by the kilogram |
payer à la semaine | to pay by the week |
Point in time | |
Nous arrivons à 5h00 | We arrive at 5:00 |
Il est mort à 92 ans | He died at the age of 92 |
Additional Uses of De in French
The prepositiondealso has more uses than listed above. You will use it often when speaking of cause and the manner of doing something.
Cause | |
mourir de faim | to die of/from hunger |
fatigué du voyage | tired from the trip |
Means/manner of doing something | |
écrire de la main gauche | to write with the left hand |
répéter de mémoire | to recite from memory |
Using ÀandDe With Verbs
It is essential to understand the difference between the French prepositionsàandde because themeaning of some verbs depends on whether you useàorde. For other verbs, both prepositions may be used in the same sentence.
Verbs With Different Meanings When Àor DeIs Used
In French, a single verb can havetwo meanings depending on the preposition. If you choose the wrong one, you might say "I neglected Jane" rather than "I miss Jane." Doing so can lead to misunderstandings. The following table shows specific verbs that change meanings through prepositions.
In the following examples, French abbreviations for "someone"and "something" are used. When using these verbs, simply replace the abbreviation with the nouns that you'respeaking of.
- qqun/ s.o. -quelqu'un/ someone
- qqch/ s.t. -quelque chose/ something
décider à | to persuade, convince |
décider de | to decide to |
demander à | to ask (for permission) |
demander de | to ask (s.o. to do s.t.*) |
jouer à | to play a game or sport |
jouer de | to play an instrument |
manquer à | to miss someone |
manquer de | to neglect (to do s.t.) |
(more about manquer) | |
parler à | to talk to |
parler de | to talk about |
penser à | to think about (imagine) |
penser de | to think about (opinion) |
(more about penser) | |
profiter à | to benefit |
profiter de | to make the most of |
venir à | to happen to |
venir de | to have just (done s.t.) |
(more about venir) |
Verbs That Use BothÀand Dein the Same Sentence
The prepositionsàanddecan be used in a single sentence, often when you wantsomeoneto dosomething.
conseiller à qqun de faire qqch | advise s.o. to do s.t. |
défendre à qqun de faire qqch | forbid s.o. to do s.t. |
demander à qqun de faire qqch | ask s.o. to do s.t. |
dire à qqun de faire qqch | tell s.o. to do s.t. |
interdire à qqun de faire qqch | forbid s.o. to do s.t. |
ordonner à qqun de faire qqch | order s.o. to do s.t. |
permettre à qqun de faire qqch | allow s.o. to do s.t. |
promettre à qqun de faire qqch | promise s.o. to do s.t. |
téléphoner à qqun de faire qqch | call s.o. to do s.t. |
Expressions WithÀand De
Yet another use forde and àin French is in common expressions. Again, they often have similar meanings, yet they are notably different. Remember the primary difference between the prepositions:
- àmeans "to," "at," or"in"
- demeans"of"or"from"
à côté | nearby, next to | de côté | sideways |
à côté de | next to, beside | du côté de | from (direction) |
à la hauteur | at the level | de hauteur | [5 feet] tall |
il est à Paris | he's in Paris | il est de Paris | he's from Paris |
prêt* à + inf. | prepared to | prês* de + inf. | near, on the verge of |
tasse à thé | teacup (cup for tea) | tasse de thé | cup of tea |
*prêt and prêsare two different words, but because they are homophones,it makes sense to include them here for comparison.
Verbs WithÀor De
There are a couple of French verbs that can take à or de with little or no difference in meaning:
commencer à / de | to start |
continuer à / de | to continue |
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Your Citation
Team, ThoughtCo. "When to Use 'À' vs. 'De' in French." ThoughtCo, Jul. 23, 2024, thoughtco.com/a-vs-de-french-prepositions-4080520.Team, ThoughtCo. (2024, July 23). When to Use 'À' vs. 'De' in French. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/a-vs-de-french-prepositions-4080520Team, ThoughtCo. "When to Use 'À' vs. 'De' in French." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/a-vs-de-french-prepositions-4080520 (accessed November 29, 2024).
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