The 100 Most Common French Prepositions

French prepositions are the little invariable grammatical words that link two words (or groups of words) to create a logical connection. Since you just start learning French, you first need to learn countries’ gender in french, secondly french prepositions for countries and cities, and lastly geographical prepositions in French.

This article will cover all your major concerns about French prepositions so that you can start using them in your everyday life ASAP.

So, let me provide you with the

French prepositions list

On this French preposition list, you will find the most common ones.

French PrepositionsEnglish Meanings
1deof / from
2des,some
3àTo
4dans,in,
5pour,for,
6par,by,
7avec,with,
8contre,against, vs,
9vers,towards,
10en,in,
11avant,before,
12après,after,
13sans,without,
14sousunder
15chez,at the house of,
16concernant,regarding,
17quant àas for
18depuis,since,
19jusqueuntil
20devant,before,
21derrière,behind,
22par,by,
23MalgréDespite
24outre,besides,
25envers,towards,
26durantduring
27selonaccording to
28parmiamong
29nonobstant,notwithstanding,
30en dépit dedespite
31entreBetween
32pour,for,
33sauf,except,
34au moyen de by means of
35pendant,during,
36sans,without,
37verstowards
38sous,under,
39suron
40suivant,next,
41à cause de,because of,
42à la merci de,at the mercy of,
43à côté deto the side of,
44afin de,in order to,
45 au-dehors de outside,
46à l’intérieurinside
47à défaut de ,in the absence of,
48à force de,by dint of,
49à  l’instar de,like,
50au lieu de,instead of,
51en deçà de,under,
52à  la faveur de,in the favor of,
53 à I ‘encontre de, against,
54 à l’exception de, with the exception of,
55à  l’insu de,unbeknownst to,
56verstowards
57avant,before,
58 à  travers, through,
59avec,with,
60en bas de,below,
61par ricochetindirectly
62au-dessus de,above,
63environ / aux environs de,around
64de manière à,in such a way that,
65de façon àso that
66entre,between, among,
67 en outre in addition
68 hors de, out of,
69au-dessous de,above
70surtoutespecially
71 près de, near,
72au prix de,at the price of,
73aux alentours de,around,
74autour dearound
75loin de,far from,
76par rapport à ,compared to ,
77en faveur de,in favor of,
78de peur que,for fear that
79du côté deby the side of
80en dehors de,apart from,
81 en face de, in front of,
82en guise de,as a,
83par suite de,as a result of,
84proche de,close to,
85quitte à,At the risk of
86 vis-à-vis de… with respect to…
87à moins que,unless,
88au fait,by the way,
89de sorte que,so that,
90A condition que,On condition that,
91Pour queSo that
92Dès-queAs soon as
93en fait,in fact,
94de plusin addition
95De surcroitIn addition
96 entre autres,among others,
97en plusin addition,
98en tout casanyway, in any case
99enin,
100d’aprèsAccording to

If you want to learn more about prepositions, click here.

In case you are wondering,

What Are French prepositions for countries

Before using French prepositions for countries, you need to know the country’s gender (masculine / feminine) and sometimes number (Singular or plural). There are 3 French prepositions for countries you need to know: The << en >>, the << au >> and the << aux >>.

So, let’s talk about the     

1. The << En > Preposition For Feminin Countries

Syntax: EN + Feminin Country / Continent

Ex : Elle habite en Allemagne. = She lives in Germany

        Il voyage en Grèce et en Pologne. = He travels to Greece and Poland.

        Elle travaille en France. = she works in France.

        Nous allons en Asie. = We are going/go to Asia.

2. The << au>> Prepositions For Masculine Countries

You can use << au >> in front of countries that accept << Le >> and << Un >> as articles. These countries are generally those that are not ended with << e >> like le Nigeria, le Togo, le Japon, etc.

Here is the,

Syntax: au + Masculine country

Ex : Je suis au Danemark = I am in Danemark

       Je vais au Mexique = I am going to Mexico

       Il est basé au Togo = He is based in Togo

       Nous

3. The << Aux >> Preposition For Countries With Plural Names

You use the << aux >> prepositions for countries with plural names like Les Etats Unis d’Amérique, Les Pays Bas, les Seychelles, les Emirats Arabes Unis, les Emirats Arabes Unis, les Philippines, les îles Féroé etc

Ex: J’habite aux Etat Unis = I live in the US

       Remi travaille aux Seychelles

       Papa va aux Emirats Arabes Unis

The << De >> Prepositions means from

<< De >> means from and we use it to express the origin of something.

Ex: L’avion viens de Berlin. = The plane is coming from Berlin

      Mes amis sont de Paris = My friends are from Paris

I know what you are thinking,

French Prepositions Of Place: What Are They?

French prepositions of place include à, au, du, de, dans, sur etc. The prepositions “à and de” are probably the most common in French.  

1. The << à >> preposition means in, at, to etc.

We use the << à >> preposition of place in French in front of a city, town, or state under a federal republic.

Ex: J’habite à New York = I live in New York

      Ma fille travaille à Paris = My daughter works in Paris. For you to use the << à >> preposition in front of a particular place in a town, the location’s gender must be feminine like La Poste, La Pharmacie, etc

Ex: Je suis à la poste = I am at the post office.

Je vais à la pharmacie = I am going to the Pharmacy

2. The << De >> Prepositions becomes

  • Du when it refers to a location in a city that is masculine (le restaurant, le cinéma, etc). Du means “de le”, but we never say “de le” in French. We replace it by DU

Ex: Je viens du restaurant = I am coming from the restaurant (because restaurant is masculine)

  • de la when it refers to a location in a city that is feminine (la mosquée, la rivière, la maison)

Ex: Je viens de la pharmacie =  I am coming from the pharmacy

  • De L’ when it refers to a place with a vowel initial (Here it does not matter whether it is masculine or feminine)

Ex: Je viens de l’église = I am coming from church (Eglise is feminine)

3. The << Dans >> Preposition

We use << Dans >> to say that something / someone is inside a place

Syntax: Dans + Article + Place

Ex: Je suis dans le salon = I am in the sitting room. However, don’t say “Je suis dans le Canada” to say “I am in Canada”. I am in Canada is ” je suis au Canada”

       Issiak est dans la chambre = Issiak is inside the room

      Paul est dans le supermarché = Paul is inside the supermarket

4. The << Sur >> preposition

We use Sur to say that something or someone is on top of or on the surface of something else

Syntax: sur + article + Place

Ex: J’ai mis le manteau sur la chaise = I put the jacket on the chair

      Je pose le roman sur l’étagère = I put the novel on the shelves

5. The << Chez >> prepositions

We use the Chez french preposition to say that someone/something is at someone else’ house

Syntax = chez + A  noun / name

Ex : Je suis chez Jean = I am at John’s place

       Paul est chez ses amis = Paul is at his friend’s place

       Nous sommes chez nous = We are at home

6. The << Contre >> Prepositions to say against

Syntax = contre + article + noun

Ex: J’ai placé le lit contre le mur = I placed the bed against the wall

Conclusion

To master the French prepositions well, you need to know their meanings in English and practice them over and over again. Also, it is required that you know the gender of the place you are referring to first, if not, you will end up using the wrong preposition.

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