French For Football/Grammar/Prepositions

À and De

The preposition à can indicate a destination, a location, a characteristic, measurement, a point in time, purpose, and several other things which will be covered later.

When le follows à, the à and le combine into au. Similarly, à and les combine into aux.

The preposition de can indicate an origin, contents, possession, cause, manner, and several other things which will be covered later.

When le follows de, the de and le combine into du. Similarly, de and les combine into des.

Geography prepositions

Cities

French native speaker

à is used to say in, at, to
- Je vais à Paris. - I'm going to Paris
de is used to say from.
- Je reviens de Paris. - I return from Paris.
cities that have articles as part of their names contract with the preposition if the city is masculine.
- le Caire - Je vais au Caire. - Je reviens du Caire.
- le Havre - Je vais au Havre. - Je reviens du Havre.
- la Nouvelle-Orléans - Je vais à la Nouvelle-Orléans. - Je reviens de la Nouvelle-Orléans.

Feminine regions, countries, and continents

Most geographical areas are feminine
Every French geographical area that ends in -e is feminine, with one or two exceptions.
Every continent is feminine.
en is used to say in, at, to for all feminine geographical areas except cities
- Je vais en France. - I go to France.
de is used to say from for all feminine geographical areas except cities
- Je reviens de France. - I return from France.
de is contracted to d' when followed by a vowel.
- Je vais en Espagne. - Je reviens d’Espagne.

Masculine regions

all regions that do not end in a silent e are masculine

Audio : French native speaker

dans le is used to say in, at, to for most masculine regions, provinces, and states
- Je vais dans le Limousin. - I'm going to Limousin.
du, a contraction of de + le, is used to say from for most regions, provinces, and states
- Je reviens du Limousin. - I return from Limousin.
If a region is thought of or considered as its own sovereign state, au is used instead of dans le
- Je vais au Québec. - Je reviens du Québec. (Note: This is for the province of Québec. For the city of Québec, Je vais à Québec should be used. - Je reviens de Québec.)
- Je vais au Texas. - Je reviens du Texas.

Masculine countries starting with a consonant

all countries that do not end in a silent e are masculine
le Cambodge, le Mexique, le Zimbabwe, and le Mozambique are masculine
au is used to say in, at, to for masculine countries beginning with a consonant
- Je vais au Portugal. - I'm going to Portugal.
- du is used to say from for masculine countries beginning with a consonant
- Je reviens du Portugal. - I return from Portugal.

Plural countries

Audio : French native speaker

aux, a contraction of à + les, is used to say in, to, as if a plural article is part of the name of a country
- Je vais aux États-Unis. - I'm going to the United States. (pronounced aytahzoohnee)
des, a contraction of de + les, is used to say from if a plural article is part of the name of a country
- Je reviens des États-Unis. - I return from the United States.

Masculine countries starting with a vowel

en is used to say in, at, to for all masculine countries beginning with a vowel
- Je vais en Israël. - I'm going to Israel.
d' is used to say from for all masculine countries beginning with a vowel
- Je reviens d’Israël. - I return from Israel.

Check for understanding

Are all French countries ending in e feminine?
What geographical areas use the preposition dans le?
What prepositions do countries beginning with vowels use?
What prepositions does the city of Quebec use? ...the province of Quebec?

Common prepositions

Prepostion	Translation	Example	Notes
à	1. to 2. at 3. of 4. in	Je vais au match. -- I am going to the match. Je pars à cinq heures. -- I am leaving at five C'est un ami à moi. -- This is a friend of mine. C'est la voiture à John. -- This is John's car.
à côté de	next to, besides	Le tir passe à côté du but. -- The shot passes wide of the goal.	(du = de le)
à l'intérieur de	inside	La balle doit rester à l'intérieur de l'aire de jeu. -- The ball must stay inside the playing area.	Alternative: dedans (rarely used as a preposition)
afin de	in order to	Le match est arrêté afin d'avertir ou d'expulser un joueur. -- The match is stopped in order to caution or dismiss a player.
afin que	so that	Il est prêté à Lorient afin qu'il puisse enchaîner les matchs en Ligue 1. -- He was loaned to Lorient so that he could continue playing in Ligue 1.
après	after	cinq minutes après le repos—five minutes after the break	Also an adverb.
avant	before, in front	avant le début du match—before the start of the match
avec	with	Il va rester avec l'équipe. -- He is going to stay with the team.
chez	at the home of	Ils sont toujours invaincus chez eux. -- They are still unbeaten at home.
contre	against	un but contre son camp—an own goal
dans	in	une poussette dans le dos—a small push in the back	Synonym: en
de	1. of, from 2. about	la méforme de son meilleur joueur—the unfitness of his best player	Also an indefinite article. Contractions: du, des IPA: /də/
depuis	since	invaincu depuis le début de la saison—unbeaten since the start of the season
derrière	behind	un meneur de jeu posté derrière deux attaquants—a playmaker posted behind two forwards
dès	from	dès que possible—as soon as possible
devant	in front of	un cafouillage devant le but—a scramble in front of the goal
en	in	un match en moins—a match in hand	Also a pronoun.
entre	between	une mésentente entre le gardien et son défenseur—a misunderstanding between the goalkeeper and his defender
hors	outside, out of	hors de position—out of position
jusqu'à	until	Il restera jusqu'à la fin de la saison. -- He will stay until the end of the season.
loin de	far from	Le match est loin d'être fini. -- The match is far from over.
malgré	despite	l'équipe reste zen malgré tout—the team remains calm in spite of everything
par	1. through 2. by, for	un ballon cafouillé par la défense—a ball bungled by the defence
parmi	among	il est parmi les dix candidats—he is among the ten contenders
à partir de	from	écoutez l'émission ce soir à partir de 20h—hear the broadcast this evening starting at 8 p.m.
pendant	during	les commentaires pendant le match—the commentary during the match
près de	near	on est tout près de l'égalisation—we are so close to the equaliser
pour	for	il est titularisé pour la première fois—he is picked for the first time
sans	without	il capte le ballon sans difficulté—he catches the ball without difficulty
sauf	except	tout le monde l'a vu sauf l'arbitre—everyone saw it except the referee
selon	according to	selon le quotidien britannique, le Daily Mail—according to the British daily paper, The Daily Mail
sous	under	sous l’impulsion de leur capitaine—spurred on by their captain
sur	1. on 2. upon 3. on top of 4. above 5. out of 6. sept sur dix (seven out of ten)	sur le papier, c'est la meilleure équipe—on paper, it's the better team	Synonyms: au-dessus de (above) Antonyms: sous (below, under), dessous, au-dessous-de (below)
vers	towards	un grand pas vers la qualification—a big step towards qualification
vis-à-vis de	opposite, in relation to	il porte une responsabilité vis-à-vis de l'équipe—he carries a responsibility in relation to the team
voici	here is, here are	voici le but de l'année—here is the goal of the year
voilà	there is, there are	voilà pourquoi nous avons perdu—that is why we lost

Acknowledgements

This page is based on original text from French/Grammar/Prepositions dated 21 January 2010.