[Originally posted on 12/27/18 on the Duolingo French for English speakers forum by Sitesurf]
Spatial Prepositions
Expressing locations in French can be tricky because many English prepositions don’t have one-to-one French translations. This is especially true for “in”, which can be dans, en, or à depending on how specific the location is.
Dans means “in” for specific, known locations. It is especially appropriate when the location name has an article or possessive.
- Il mange dans le restaurant. — He’s eating in the restaurant.
- Un chat est dans ma chambre. — A cat is in my room.
Use à and its contractions for unspecific or vague locations.
- On vit à la campagne. — We live in the country.
- C’est dangereux à la frontière. — It’s dangerous at the frontier.
When describing a location that doesn’t require a determiner (usually a type of place), use en.
- Nous sommes en classe. — We are in class.
- Elle est en prison. — She is in prison.
Special Rules: Cities and Countries
For all cities (and islands), use à for “to” or “in” and de for “from”.
- Le roi vit à Versailles. — The king lives in Versailles.
- Nous allons à Paris. — We are going to Paris.
- Napoléon vient de Corse. — Napoleon comes from Corsica.
- Je l’envoie d’Orléans. — I am sending it from Orleans.
Plural islands use the prepositions aux and des.
- Je veux aller aux Philippines. — I want to go to the Philippines.
- Il vient des Antilles. — He comes from the West Indies.
Countries, provinces/states, and continents have gender-based rules. For feminine ones, en means “to” or “in” and de means “from”. Luckily, all continents are feminine, as are most countries ending in -e.
- Bordeaux est en France. — Bordeaux is in France.
- Il reste en Europe. — He is staying in Europe.
- On vient de Californie. — We come from California.
- Elle part d’Asie. — She is departing from Asia.
For masculine countries that start with a consonant sound, use au and du.
- Je veux aller au Mexique. — I want to go to Mexico.
- Elles partent du Japon. — They are departing from Japan.
If they start with a vowel sound, switch back to en and d’ for euphony.
- Il y a une guerre en Irak. — There is a war in Iraq.
- J’arrive d’Afghanistan — I am coming from Afghanistan.
For countries with pluralized names, use aux and des.
- On travaille aux États-Unis. — We work in the United States.
- Elles viennent des Pays-bas — They are from the Netherlands.
Cardinal points are not capitalized, masculine and usually keep their articles. Tu habites au nord. — You live in the North. Nous venons du sud. — We are coming from the South. Le soleil se lève à l’est. — The sun rises in the East. Le vent souffle de l’ouest. — The wind is blowing from the West.
| Country | To or In | From |
|---|---|---|
| feminine | en | de, d’ |
| masculine beginning in a consonant | au | du |
| masculine beginning in a vowel | en | d’ |
| plural | aux | des |
| State or Province | To or In | From |
|---|---|---|
| feminine | en | de |
| masculine beginning in a consonant | au, dans le | du |
| masculine beginning in a vowel | en, dans l’ | d’, de l’ |
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