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French preposition
The preposition à is generally summarized as "to, at, or in," but it has quite a few more meanings and uses than that.
When à is followed by the definite article le or les, the two words must contract.
| le | les | But… | la | l’ | ||||||
| à | au | aux | à la | à l’ |
However, à does not contract with the direct objects le and les.
Je me prépare à le faire – I’m getting ready to do it.
1) Destination | |||
| Nous allons à Nice. | We’re going to Nice. | ||
| Je veux conduire à la poste. | I want to drive to the post office. | ||
2) Location | |||
| Habitez-vous à Toulouse ? | Do you live in Toulouse? | ||
| Elle est à l’école. | She’s at school. | ||
3) Distance | |||
| Nous sommes à deux kilomètres de la plage. | We’re two kilometers from the beach. | ||
| Il habite à 20 minutes d’ici. | He lives 20 minutes away from here. | ||
4) Point in time | |||
| Elle va arriver à midi. | She’ll arrive at noon. | ||
| J’ai publié mon premier livre à 25 ans. | I published my first book at 25. | ||
5) Until | |||
| à demain | until tomorrow | ||
| à la prochaine | until next time | ||
6) Range | |||
| Il me faut 2 à 3 heures pour le faire. | I need 2 to 3 hours to do it. | ||
| du lundi au samedi | from Monday to Saturday | ||
7) Purpose or use | |||
| un verre à vin | wine glass (glass for wine) | ||
| un sac à main | hand bag | ||
8) Characteristic | |||
| une fille au teint pâle | pale-skinned girl | ||
| chaussures à talon haut | high-heeled shoes | ||
9) Manner or style | |||
| une robe à manches | dress with sleeves | ||
| un tapis fait à la machine | machine-made rug | ||
10) Measurement | |||
| acheter au kilo | to buy by the kilo | ||
| faire du 110 km à l’heure | to go 110 km per hour | ||
11) Possession | |||
| C’est à moi. | It’s mine. | ||
| Cet argent est à Michel. | This is Michel’s money. | ||
12) In the passive infinitive | |||
| à vendre | for sale | ||
| Nous n’avons rien à faire. | We have nothing to do. | ||
13) After verbs | |||
| Many verbs must be followed by à in front of a noun or infinitive. | |||
14) After adjectives | |||
| Some adjectives must be followed by à in front of a noun or infinitive. | |||
Related lessons
- Adjectives with à
- Verbs with à
- Telling time
- À vs de
- Geographical prepositions
- Introduction to prepositions
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