Prepositions
Prepositions
Prepositions are words placed before a nouns or pronouns to show their relationship to a verb, adjective, pronoun, or another noun. These are quite common in both English and French.
Examples:
Je parle à Marie. (I am talking to Marie.)
Les fleurs sont pour toi. (The flowers are for you.)
Below are the most common prepositions used in French.
Examples from “Adieu”
Check the phrases below from section 2:
nous ne mourons pas de chagrin après deux ou trois ans seulement de ravages
rester six mois sans regarder sa figure
The preposition “après” is used when the speaker states that something does not happen after 2 or 3 years of excitement. It helps the listener and reader
understand the span of time involved in the narration.
In the second phrase, “sans” is used to describe what the speaker explains was not done within the six month period.
Review the excerpt from section 3 below:
Je l'avais rencontrée au bord de la mer
The preposition used in this example is “à”. It appears in a different form as it is contracted with the definite article “le”.
Prepositions are words placed before a nouns or pronouns to show their relationship to a verb, adjective, pronoun, or another noun. These are quite common in both English and French.
Examples:
Je parle à Marie. (I am talking to Marie.)
Les fleurs sont pour toi. (The flowers are for you.)
Below are the most common prepositions used in French.
| French | English | Examples |
| à | to, at, in | Elle habite à Paris (She lives in Paris) Elle arivent à 6h00 (They arrive at 6:00) Je vais à Paris (I’m going to Paris) |
| après | after | Apres le dejenuner (after lunch) |
| avant | before | Avant la maison (before the house) |
| avec | with | Avec mes amis (with my friends) |
| chez | at/to __'s house or place; on/from the area of, from/at __'s | Chez moi (at my house/place) Il est chez Marie (He’s at Marie’s place) |
| dans | inside, into | Elle est dans sa chamber (She’s in her room) |
| de | of from | Un tasse de café (a cup of coffee) Le livre de marie (Marie’s book) Je suis de Paris (I’m from Paris) |
| depuis | since, from, for | J'étudie le français depuis 1996. (I’ve been studying French since 1996.) |
| en | in, on, to | Elle est en prison (She’s in jail) Nous habitons en Espagne (We live in Spain) |
| pendant | during | Pendant ce temps, elle m'attendait. (During this time, she waited for me.) |
| pour | for | J'ai acheté un gâteau pour toi. (I bought a cake for you.) |
| sans | without | Sans sucré (without sugar/sugar free) Elle est parti sans me parler. (She left without saying anything to me.) |
| sur | on | Un gateau sur la table (A cake on the table) |
| vers | towards | Nous allons vers Paris (We’re going towards Paris) |
Examples from “Adieu”
Check the phrases below from section 2:
nous ne mourons pas de chagrin après deux ou trois ans seulement de ravages
rester six mois sans regarder sa figure
The preposition “après” is used when the speaker states that something does not happen after 2 or 3 years of excitement. It helps the listener and reader
understand the span of time involved in the narration.
In the second phrase, “sans” is used to describe what the speaker explains was not done within the six month period.
Review the excerpt from section 3 below:
Je l'avais rencontrée au bord de la mer
The preposition used in this example is “à”. It appears in a different form as it is contracted with the definite article “le”.
- À + le au
- À + les aux