Here is a list of prepositions in French with the most common meanings in different contexts:
| Prep. | Meaning | Examples | |
| à | to | Je vais à l’école le matin. | I go to school in the morning. |
| at | Je finirai à midi. | I will finish at noon. | |
| by | Fait à la main. | Made by hand (handmade). | |
| in | J’habite à Paris. | I live in Paris. | |
| on | Je rentrerai à pied. | I’ll come back home on foot. | |
| à côté de | beside next to | Il y a un chat à côté de la chaise. | There is a cat beside the chair. |
| à l’extérieur de | outside | Le garage est à l’extérieur du centre commercial. | The garage is outside the shopping mall. |
| à l’intérieur de | inside | Le ballon est à l’intérieur de la boîte. | The ball is inside the box. |
| à travers | across through | Il est possible se promener à travers les champs et les forêts. | It is possible to walk through fields and forests. |
| après | after | J’ai dormi après le déjeuner aujourd’hui. | I slept after lunch today. |
| autour de | around | J’ai installé des caméras autour de la maison. | I installed cameras around the house. |
| avant de | before | Je t’appellerai avant de partir. | I will call you before leaving. |
| avec | with | Il parle avec son ami. | He speaks with his friend. |
| contre | against | Je suis contre l’injustice. | I am against injustice. |
| dans | in | Le chat est dans la boîte. | The cat is in the box. |
| de | of | La couleur de cette voiture est bleue. | The color of that car is blue. |
| from | J’ai voyagé de Londres à la Corée. | I traveled from London to Korea. | |
| about | Ils parlent de lui. | They talk about him. | |
| dedans | inside | Les enfants sont dedans. | The kids are inside. |
| dehors | outside | J’ai trouvé cette balle dehors. | I found this ball outside. |
| depuis | for (duration) | J’y travaille depuis deux ans. | I have worked there for two years. |
| since | J’y travaille depuis janvier. | I have worked there since January. | |
| derrière | behind | L’arbre est derrière la maison. | The tree is behind the house. |
| devant | in front of | Je suis devant l’école. | I am in front of the school. |
| jusqu’à | until | J’ai travaillé jusqu’à minuit. | I worked until midnight. |
| as far as | La lumière s’étend jusqu’au parc. | The light reaches as far as the park. | |
| en | in | J’habite en France. | I live in France. |
| by | Je vais voyager en voiture. | I am going to travel by car. | |
| to | J’irai en France. | I will go to France. | |
| au-dessus de | above over on top of | La mouche est au-dessus de la table. | The fly is above the table. |
| en dessous de | below underneath | Ce liquide gèle en dessous d’une certaine température. | This liquid freezes below a certain temperature. |
| entre | between | L’oiseau est coincé entre les branches. | The bird is stuck between the branches. |
| le long de | along | Il y a des maisons le long du lac. | There are houses along the lake. |
| par | by | Je t’ai contacté par téléphone. | I contacted you by phone. |
| per | Ça coûte 20 dollars par nuit. | It costs 20 dollars per night. | |
| through | Je passe par Paris. | I’ll go through Paris. | |
| around | J’habite par ici. | I live around here. | |
| parmi | among | Je suis le plus grand parmi mes amis. | I am the tallest among my friends. |
| pendant durant | during | Nous pouvons sortir pendant la journée. | We can go out during the day. |
| pour | in order to | On étudie pour apprendre. | We study in order to learn. |
| for (destination) | Je partirai pour Barcelone demain. | I will leave for Barcelona tomorrow. | |
| près de | near | J’habite près de la ville. | I live near the city. |
| selon | according to | Selon la loi, c’est interdit. | According to the law, it is prohibited. |
| sans | without | Un poisson ne peut pas vivre sans eau. | A fish can’t live without water. |
| sous | under | Le chat est sous la chaise. | The cat is under the chair. |
| sur | on | La clé est sur la table. | The key is on the table. |
| about | Le débat sur cet incident est clos. | The debate about that incident is over. | |
| vers | toward | Elle courut vers la sortie. | She ran toward the exit. |
Contractions with the Definite Article
The prepositions “à” and “de” contract when followed by the definite article “le” (in its non-contracted form) or
“les.” Other prepositions do not contract with the definite article.
| le | la | l’ | les | |
| à | au | à la | à l’ | aux |
| de | du | de la | de l’ | des |
Here are some examples:
| à | + | le | = | au | J’irai avec toi au stade. | I’ll go with you to the stadium. |
| à | + | les | = | aux | Le professeur parle aux élèves. | The teacher speaks to the students. |
| de | + | le | = | du | Toutes les photos sont supprimées du livre. | All photos are removed from the book. |
| de | + | les | = | des | C’est l’un des meilleurs quartiers ici. | It is one of the best areas here. |
| de | + | la | = | de la | La couleur de la voiture est bleue. | The color of the car is blue. |
The Preposition “à”
The preposition “à” is used to mean “in” when referring to the proper name of a city (or a smaller area), e.g., “Je vis à Rome” (I live in Rome).
For larger areas, we use the preposition “en,” e.g., “Je vis en Californie” (I live in California), “Je l’ai vu en Espagne” (I saw it in Spain), etc.
The preposition “à” can also mean “to” or “for” when used to indicate purpose or reason. For example:
| Quelque chose à boire | Something to drink |
| Une maison à vendre | A house for sale |
The Preposition “en”
The preposition “en” generally means “in” in English.
However, when referring to a destination that is larger than a city, the preposition “en” can also be translated as “to,” e.g., “J’irai en Californie” (I will go to California), “J’ai voyagé en Espagne” (I traveled to Spain), etc.
When referring to a means of transportation, “en” is often translated as “by,” e.g., “On voyage en train” (We travel by train).
The preposition “depuis”
The preposition “depuis” is used as the equivalent of “since” and “for” in time expressions that typically use the present perfect or present perfect continuous tense in English. For example:
| Je n’ai pas fumé depuis avril. | I haven’t smoked since April. |
| Je n’ai pas fumé depuis deux ans. | I haven’t smoked for two years. |
The preposition “chez”
We use “chez” to refer to being at someone’s house or workplace. In this context, “chez” is often translated as “at” or “to.” For example:
| Nous sommes chez Marco. | We are at Marco’s place. |
| Es-tu chez Anne? | Are you at Anne’s place? |
| Nous sommes chez Burger King. | We are at Burger King. |
| Je viendrai chez toi. | I will come to your house. |
| J’irai chez le dentiste demain. | I will go to the dentist tomorrow. |
Expressing the meaning of “about”
To express the meaning of “about” (e.g., to talk about or watch a documentary about something), we often use “sur.” For example:
| J’ai regardé un documentaire sur cette guerre. | I watched a documentary about that war. |
| J’ai lu un livre sur la vie au Japon. | I read a book about life in Japan. |
In some contexts, we could use “de” to mean “about.” For example:
| Ils parlent de lui. | They talk about him. |
| Je veux lire un livre de sciences. | I want to read a book about science. |
Other lessons in Level II:
