{"id":603,"date":"2022-06-08T12:02:22","date_gmt":"2022-06-08T10:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/?p=603"},"modified":"2024-02-19T09:06:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T08:06:02","slug":"french-prepositions-a-vs-de","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-prepositions-a-vs-de\/","title":{"rendered":"French prepositions: \u00e0 VS de"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In France, we use two different words for <strong>to<\/strong>: <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> and <strong>de<\/strong>. It can be confusing for beginners, so today we&rsquo;re going to clear things up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&rsquo;ll start by learning the basics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u00e0<\/strong> is always used with a <strong>specific destination<\/strong>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>while <strong>de<\/strong> can mean either <strong>of<\/strong> or <strong>from<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Then we&rsquo;ll look at some examples to see how it works in practice. By the end of this post, you&rsquo;ll be able to choose the right preposition every time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"COMMENT UTILISER \u201c\u00c0\u201d et \u201cDE\u201d CORRECTEMENT EN FRANCAIS ? QUAND LES UTILISER ?\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jUR27Lc8wNI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-af8c0edc alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-35a8548f\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-64fd7e53\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>PDF Bonus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have prepared a <strong>free PDF<\/strong> to help you <strong>understand and master the French prepositions: \u00ab\u00a0\u00e0\u00a0\u00bb VS \u00ab\u00a0de\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong>. <br>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3jVJ0uz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Download it for free<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end, you will have <strong>exercises <\/strong>to practice with the <strong>correction<\/strong>. \ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>First: the general rules with French prepositions<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1)<\/strong> <strong>After a French preposition, the verb is in the infinitive<\/strong>. This rule is valid for all prepositions, not only <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> or <strong>de<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2)<\/strong> With the prepositions <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> and <strong>de<\/strong> that we&rsquo;re interested in today, there&rsquo;s a certain logic, an idea that can help you remember the rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\u00e0 <strong>\u2192&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">de <strong>\u2190<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fleches-de-a.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-605\" style=\"width:250px;height:173px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fleches-de-a.png 500w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fleches-de-a-300x208.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But, in many expressions or with some verbs, the choice of <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> or <strong>de<\/strong> is arbitrary. That means it&rsquo;s just the way it is! The choice of preposition is self-evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3)<\/strong> <strong>de<\/strong> is common in constructions with an <strong>adjective <\/strong>or <strong>noun <\/strong>that express a <strong>feeling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Je suis <em>content\/heureux\/triste<\/em> <strong>de<\/strong> partir. (I am happy\/sad to leave)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>J\u2019ai <em>envie\/peur<\/em> <strong>de<\/strong> partir. (I want to leave\/I&rsquo;m fear to leave)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4)<\/strong> <strong>But<\/strong>, with a verb that expresses a <strong>desire<\/strong> or a <strong>project<\/strong>, <strong>no preposition is used<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>J\u2019<em>adore<\/em> <strong>lire<\/strong> dans la voiture. (I love to read in the car\ud83e\udd22)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Je <em>d\u00e9teste <\/em><strong>voyager<\/strong> en bateau. (I hate traveling by boat)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nous <em>esp\u00e9rons <\/em><strong>partir<\/strong> en vacances bient\u00f4t. (We hope to go on vacation soon)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You see that between the verb that expresses the <strong>desire<\/strong> or <strong>plan<\/strong> and the verb in the infinitive,<strong> no preposition<\/strong> is used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#60bceb\"><strong>Do you like learning French with videos?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Receive <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">our free video newsletter<\/a> every Friday in your e-mail box. You will get <strong>3 \u00ab\u00a0Tips &amp; Tricks\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong> on <strong>grammar<\/strong>, <strong>vocabulary<\/strong>, <strong>phonetics <\/strong>or <strong>French culture<\/strong>.<br>\ud83d\udc49\ud83d\udc49 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign up now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg\" alt=\"Every Friday afternoon, a French-language video delivered straight to your inbox, with three tips and tricks on the French language.\" class=\"wp-image-1882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Second: Let&rsquo;s take a closer look at \u00ab\u00a0\u00e0\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0de\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&rsquo;s look at the <strong>7 main points<\/strong> that will make it easy for you to know if you should use the French preposition <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> or the French preposition <strong>de<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. When you express a \u00ab\u00a0place\u00a0\u00bb<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We find the logic of <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> and <strong>de<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fleches-de-a.png\" alt=\"How to understand the difference between the French prepositions \u00e0 and de\" class=\"wp-image-605\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fleches-de-a.png 500w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fleches-de-a-300x208.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u00e0<\/strong>: the arrival<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>de<\/strong> : the departure, the starting point<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Je vais <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> Nice pour les vacances (I&rsquo;m going to Nice for the vacations)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Je viens <strong>de<\/strong> Nice, et toi, tu viens d\u2019o\u00f9 ? (I come from Nice, and you, where do you come from?)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udca1 <strong>Note :<\/strong> <strong>Beware of contractions!<\/strong> Remember that :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00e0 + le = <strong>au<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00e0 + les = <strong>aux<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Example<\/span>: Je vais <strong>au<\/strong> cin\u00e9ma (I am going to the cinema)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>de + le = du<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>de + les = des<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Example<\/span>: Toi, tu viens <strong>du <\/strong>Sud. (You come from the South)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. With a French tonic pronoun (moi, toi&#8230;)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u00e0<\/strong> \u2192 possession<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>de<\/strong> \u2192 to express that we did it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>C&rsquo;est <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> moi ! = It&rsquo;s mine. I <strong>own <\/strong>this object.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>C&rsquo;est <strong>de<\/strong> moi ! = I <strong>made <\/strong>it. I <strong>made <\/strong>this object.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Between 2 nouns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u26a0\ufe0f We use: <strong>de<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mon <em>t\u00e9l\u00e9phone <\/em><strong>de <\/strong><em>travail<\/em> est un Nokia 5110. (My work phone is a Nokia 5110)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Le <em>yaourt<\/em> <strong>de<\/strong> <em>Siggis<\/em> est \u00e0 la vanille. (Siggis&rsquo; yogurt is vanilla)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. With a French demonstrative pronoun (celui, celle&#8230;)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u26a0\ufe0f With a <strong>demonstrative pronoun<\/strong>, we use: <strong>de<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>C\u2019est <em>celui <\/em><strong>de<\/strong> mon beau-fr\u00e8re ! (It&rsquo;s my brother-in-law&rsquo;s!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ma voiture est rouge, <em>celle <\/em><strong>de<\/strong> ma m\u00e8re est blanche. (My car is red, my mother&rsquo;s is white)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Please try not to make a mistake <strong>between two nouns<\/strong> or with the <strong>demonstrative pronoun<\/strong> \ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Points 3 and 4 above are really important, because using \u00ab\u00a0<strong>\u00e0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb instead of \u00ab\u00a0<strong>de<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb is really:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/VwicPCEtCTM3k8RxYK\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" frameBorder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowFullScreen><\/iframe><p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. \u00ab\u00a0\u00e0\u00a0\u00bb or \u00ab\u00a0de\u00a0\u00bb to express the time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5.1. To express a time (moment) we use: \u00e0.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Je viens <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> 20h. (I come at 8pm)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Elle prend son petit-d\u00e9jeuner <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> 7h. (She has breakfast at 7am)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u26a0\ufe0f Attention:<\/strong> if the moment is \u00ab\u00a0more important\u00a0\u00bb \u2192 a day, a month, a year, it is different!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For a day: NO preposition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Je viens <strong>lundi<\/strong>. (I&rsquo;m coming on Monday)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Samedi<\/strong>, j\u2019ach\u00e8terai son livre. (On Saturday, I&rsquo;ll buy his book)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ils sont rentr\u00e9s <strong>dimanche<\/strong>. (They came home on Sunday)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For a month or a year: we use the preposition: en.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Je viendrai <strong>en <\/strong>2029. (I will come in 2029)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>La France est redevenue championne du monde de foot <strong>en <\/strong>2018. (France became the world soccer champions again in 2018)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5.2. To express the time, we find the logic of the arrows<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u00e0<\/strong> : point of arrival,&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>de<\/strong> : point of departure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Example<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Administration ouverte <strong>de<\/strong> 9h45 <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> 10h30 (Administration open from 9:45 to 10:30)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, what? 45 minutes a day is good enough, no? ! \ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. The food, the gastronomy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Be careful, here, the preposition is <strong>really important<\/strong> because it changes the meaning of what you say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until now, if you made a mistake, it was&#8230; a mistake, but normally, with the context of your sentence, we could understand what you really meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even for points 3 and 4 (<em>between two nouns, or after a demonstrative pronoun<\/em>), we can understand your sentence. The error is difficult to hear for a French speaker, but we understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But here, with the example we&rsquo;ll see, <strong>if you make a mistake, you change the meaning of the sentence!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Excusez-moi, auriez-vous un verre <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> vin ? (Excuse me, would you have a wine glass?)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excusez-moi, auriez-vous un verre <strong>de<\/strong> vin ? (Excuse me, would you have a glass of wine?)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is the difference between the two sentences?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>With \u00ab\u00a0<strong>\u00e0<\/strong>\u00ab\u00a0: you express the <strong>purpose <\/strong>of the glass \u2192 It&rsquo;s a glass to put wine in.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With \u00ab\u00a0<strong>de<\/strong>\u00ab\u00a0: you express the <strong>content <\/strong>of the glass \u2192 I want a glass with wine in it!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/verre-a-vin-verre-de-vin.jpg\" alt=\"verre \u00e0 vin or verre de vin? That's the question :)\" class=\"wp-image-612\" style=\"width:450px;height:355px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/verre-a-vin-verre-de-vin.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/verre-a-vin-verre-de-vin-300x237.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. French verbs with \u00ab\u00a0\u00e0\u00a0\u00bb and French verbs with \u00ab\u00a0de\u00a0\u00bb<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The list is long, but here is a selection of the ones we use very often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&rsquo;s really important to know if they are used with <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> or <strong>de<\/strong> because it will be very useful when you need to use a <strong>complement pronoun<\/strong> or a <strong>relative pronoun<\/strong>: <em>y, en, dont<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Try to memorize this list, which you&rsquo;ll find in the<a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3jVJ0uz\"> Little Bonus PDF<\/a> with everything we&rsquo;ve seen today. In addition, in the<a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3jVJ0uz\"> Little Bonus PDF<\/a>, you will find exercises with the correction to practice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#a0d0f3\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Verbes avec \u201c\u00e0\u201d<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Verbes avec \u201cde\u201d<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>aller \u00e0<\/strong> + nom de l\u2019endroit<br><strong>arriver \u00e0<\/strong> + <em>mon point d\u2019arriv\u00e9e<\/em><br><strong>t\u00e9l\u00e9phoner \u00e0<\/strong> qqn<br><strong>\u00e9crire \u00e0<\/strong> qqn<br><strong>penser \u00e0<\/strong> qqn\/qqch<br><strong>participer \u00e0<\/strong> un \u00e9v\u00e8nement<br><strong>assister \u00e0<\/strong> un \u00e9v\u00e9nement&nbsp;<br><strong>parler \u00e0<\/strong> qqn (<em>interlocuteur<\/em>)<br><strong>continuer \u00e0<\/strong> (action continue, se poursuit)<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>venir de<\/strong> + nom de l\u2019endroit<br><strong>arriver de<\/strong> \u2190 (<em>mon point de d\u00e9part<\/em>)<br><strong>t\u00e9l\u00e9phoner de<\/strong> + lieu<br><strong>\u00e9crire de<\/strong> + lieu<br><strong>s\u2019inqui\u00e9ter de<\/strong> qqch<br><strong>s\u2019occuper de<\/strong> qqn\/qqch<br><strong>faire partie de<\/strong> qqch<br><strong>parler de<\/strong> qqn\/qqch (<em>sujet de conversation<\/em>)<br><strong>continuer de<\/strong> (habitude)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One last point before we conclude. An 8th point, you could say. It&rsquo;s the use of <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> or <strong>de<\/strong> depending on whether your sentence is in the personal or impersonal form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">French Personal form VS impersonal form<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As you already know, in French, you can express the same idea by constructing your sentence with a personal form <em>(with an active, determined subject)<\/em> or, with an impersonal form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this case, the subject is: \u00ab\u00a0<strong>il<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb or \u00ab\u00a0<strong>ce<\/strong>\u00ab\u00a0, and it is <strong>only a grammatical subject<\/strong>, which does not designate anything or anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now let&rsquo;s look at the relationship with the prepositions <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> and <strong>de<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">French personal form: you use \u00ab\u00a0\u00e0\u00a0\u00bb<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Le fran\u00e7ais est difficile <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> apprendre. (French is difficult to learn)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The same sentence, but with an <strong>impersonal form construction<\/strong>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>C\u2019est<\/em> difficile <strong>d\u2019<\/strong>apprendre le fran\u00e7ais. (It&rsquo;s hard to learn French)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can see that here, the preposition <strong>de<\/strong> is used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both sentences have the same meaning, but depending on which way you choose to use it, you must use <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> or <strong>de<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In summary<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1)<\/strong> <strong>\u00e0<\/strong>: the <strong>arrival<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>de<\/strong>: the <strong>departure<\/strong>, the <strong>starting point<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can help you very often when you hesitate, whatever the construction you want to use. Keep in mind these images of the arrows \ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2)<\/strong> Be careful with contractions!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00e0 + le = <strong>au <\/strong>\/<strong> <\/strong>\u00e0 + les = <strong>aux<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>de + le = <strong>du<\/strong> \/ de + les = <strong>des<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3) Between 2 nouns or after a demonstrative pronoun<\/strong> \u2192 we use: <strong>de<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Le <em>t\u00e9l\u00e9phone <\/em><strong>de <\/strong>ma <em>s\u0153ur<\/em> et <em>celui<\/em> <strong>de<\/strong> mon fr\u00e8re&#8230; (My sister&rsquo;s phone and my brother&rsquo;s phone&#8230;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4)<\/strong> In the field of food, gastronomy, if you don&rsquo;t use the right preposition, <strong>you risk changing the meaning of the sentence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>5)<\/strong> The <strong>personal form<\/strong> is built with <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> and the<strong> impersonal form<\/strong> with <strong>de<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>6)<\/strong> And finally, depending on the meaning of your sentence, <strong>some verbs<\/strong> are used with the preposition <strong>\u00e0<\/strong> or <strong>de<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&rsquo;s all for today! I hope you enjoyed this lesson on French prepositions \u00ab\u00a0\u00e0\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0de\u00a0\u00bb. Don&rsquo;t forget to practice using them in your own sentences. \u00c0 la prochaine !<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime, why not check out our other blog posts about learning French? We&rsquo;ve got everything from grammar lessons to tips for improving your pronunciation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you still have questions, don&rsquo;t hesitate to leave a comment or<a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/en\/contact-learn-french-fun.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> contact us<\/a> directly. We&rsquo;re here to help you learn French and <strong>have fun while doing it<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have fun using the gerund in all sorts of creative ways \u2013 just make sure you know what you\u2019re doing before you try using it in a conversation with a native speaker!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buymeacoffee.com\/learnfrenchfun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Articles that might interest you: <\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"lcp_catlist\" id=\"lcp_instance_0\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-imperative-in-french-how-to-conjugate-verbs-in-imperative-when-do-you-have-to-use-the-imperative\/\">The Imperative in French: How to Conjugate Verbs in Imperative? When do You Have to Use the Imperative?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-10-irregular-verbs-in-the-french-subjunctive-mood\/\">The 10 Irregular Verbs in the French Subjunctive Mood<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/depuis-pendant-en-ilya-dans\/\">Depuis, pendant, en, il y a, dans<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/all-the-secrets-of-the-french-gerund\/\">All the secrets of the French gerund!<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-verb-moods\/\">French verb moods<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-to-use-the-tonic-pronouns-in-french\/\">How to use the tonic pronouns in French?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-to-use-en-and-y-pronoun-in-french\/\">How to use \u00ab\u00a0en\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0y\u00a0\u00bb pronoun in French?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/difference-between-dont-and-duquel-in-french\/\">Difference between DONT and DUQUEL in French<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/10-dangerous-french-verbs\/\"><strong>10 common French verbs conjugated in the present tense. Beware of traps!<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-direct-object-complement-in-french-c-o-d-and-direct-complement-pronouns-le-la-les\/\">The Direct Object Complement in French (C.O.D.) and direct complement pronouns (le, la, les\u2026)<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>what&rsquo;s more fun than learning some French? Today we&rsquo;re going to talk about two of the most common prepositions in the French language: \u00e0 and de.<br \/>\nNow, these two little words can cause a lot of confusion for students, so let&rsquo;s clear things up once and for all! Stay tuned&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french-grammar"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/french-preposition-a-versus-preposition-de.jpg",1200,686,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/french-preposition-a-versus-preposition-de-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/french-preposition-a-versus-preposition-de-300x172.jpg",300,172,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/french-preposition-a-versus-preposition-de-768x439.jpg",768,439,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/french-preposition-a-versus-preposition-de-1024x585.jpg",1024,585,true],"hd_qu_size2":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/french-preposition-a-versus-preposition-de.jpg",400,229,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/french-preposition-a-versus-preposition-de.jpg",1200,686,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/french-preposition-a-versus-preposition-de.jpg",1200,686,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Christian","author_link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/author\/christian\/"},"uagb_comment_info":28,"uagb_excerpt":"what's more fun than learning some French? Today we're going to talk about two of the most common prepositions in the French language: \u00e0 and de. Now, these two little words can cause a lot of confusion for students, so let's clear things up once and for all! Stay tuned...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2390,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603\/revisions\/2390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}