Essential French Expression
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| Meaning | at / in / to / until the end | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[ah lah feh(n)] |
| IPA | [a la fɛ̃] | |
Usage notes: The French expression à la fin has several similar English equivalents, thanks to the versatile preposition à (at, in, to) at the beginning.
Par exemple…
| Je l’ai vu à la fin de novembre. | I saw him at the end of November. | |
| À la fin, j’ai réussi à le terminer. | In the end, I managed to finish it. | |
| Je suis resté jusqu’à la fin. | I stayed to / until the end. |
Related expressions
- jusqu’à la fin des temps / siècles – until the end of time
- vers la fin de (janvier …) – in late (January …), towards the end of (January …)
À la fin in action
Examples of à la fin in real-life videos from Lawless French Immersion:
| Elles seront rendues au Bénin à la fin du mois d’octobre. | They will be returned to Benin at the end of October. | |
| Video: Young Africans challenge French President at Africa-France Summit | ||
| À la fin, un seul constat : | In the end, one single conclusion: | |
| Video: TV debate kicks off France’s European elections campaign | ||
| et c’est comme ça qu’à la fin, il me propose d’effectuer un stage à l’Élysée. | and that’s how in the end, he offers me an internship at the Élysée. | |
| Video: An internship with the President | ||
| et finalement, eh ben à la fin on apprend qu’ils mangent tous ensemble. | and finally, well at the end we learn that they all eat together. | |
| Video: France’s ‘yellow vest’ protesters: who are they? | ||
Synonyms
Le bout refers to "the end," both literally and figuratively:
- au bout de la rue – at the end of the street
- au bout du monde – to the ends of the Earth
- au bout du tunnel – at the end of the tunnel
- en bout de course – at the end of the day, ultimately
- être à bout – to be the end of one’s endurance
- être à bout de ressources / patience – to be at the end of one’s resources / patience
- jusqu’au bout – to the end
- voir le bout du tunnel – to see the light at the end of the tunnel
More synonymous expressions
- à la sortie de l’enfance / du printemps – at the end of childhood / spring
- à l’issue de – at the end of (= outcome)
- enfin – in the end, finally
- en fin de compte – in the end (= outcome)
- en fin de semaine – towards the end of the week
- en queue de phrase – at the end of the sentence
- fin (janvier, février …) – at the end of (January, February …)
- fin courant – at the end of this month
- finalement – in the end (= outcome)
- finir par (décider) – to end up (deciding)
Related lessons
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