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Grammar
Objective: Use à, de, and dans correctly to describe location, origin, and enclosed spaces in simple sentences.
| Preposition | Function | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| à | Location in or movement to | à Paris | in Paris, to Paris |
| de | Origin or possession | de Paris | from Paris, of Paris |
| dans | Inside an enclosed space | dans la maison | in the house |
À and le contract to au in every context, so à le marché is never grammatically correct.
De and le contract to du, so de le Canada must always shift to the contracted form.
À marks location in a city. The same preposition will also mark destination with a movement verb.
À with the movement verb aller. The preposition does not change between location and destination.
De marks origin. The city name follows without any contraction, since cities take no article.
À and le contract to au. The separate forms à le never appear together.
De and le contract to du. The contraction is mandatory in standard French.
5 exercises · about 8 minutes
Cities take à rather than dans, while dans is reserved for enclosed physical spaces.
À and les contract to aux in every context, and the contraction applies to every plural noun.
Dans marks location inside an enclosed space. A city name would take à instead.
De and le contract to du, here expressing possession rather than origin.