French prepositions followed by a noun
Generally speaking, articles are much more common in French than in English, but there are exceptions, such as when certain prepositions are followed by nouns. Sometimes the English translations have an article, and other times the English equivalents are adjectives or adverbs.
1) Avec, en, par, and sans are usually followed directly by a noun, with no article.
Avec | ||
| J’ai achetĂ© une voiture avec clim. | I bought a car with air conditioning. | |
| Elle répond toujours avec grâce. | She always responds gracefully. | |
En | ||
| Mon responsable est en réunion. | My manager is in a meeting. | |
| Nous habitons en banlieue. | We live in the suburbs. | |
Par | ||
| Ils communiquent par internet. | They communicate via the internet. | |
| Je l’ai dĂ©couvert par hasard. | I discovered it by chance. | |
Sans | ||
| Ne sors pas sans parapluie. | Don’t go out without an umbrella. | |
| Elle est sans préjugés. | She is unbiased. |
The main exception is when talking about a specific noun.
Par exemple…
| Elle rĂ©pond toujours avec la grâce d’une princesse. | She always responds with the grace of a princess. | |
| Ne sors pas sans le parapluie que Michel t’a donnĂ©. | Don’t go out without the umbrella Michel gave you. |
2) De, pour, and sous are sometimes followed directly by a noun, with no article.
De | ||
| Il est impensable de mourir de faim. | It’s unthinkable to die of hunger. | |
| Aimez-vous les films de guerre ? | Do you like war movies? | |
Pour | ||
| Il a été condamné pour vol. | He was convicted for theft. | |
| Le restaurant est fermé pour congé annuel. | The restaurant is closed for the annual holiday. | |
Sous | ||
| Les taupes vivent sous terre. | Moles live underground. | |
| Il l’a fait sous prĂ©texte de me protĂ©ger. | He did it under the pretext of protecting me. |
Other than for de,* I don’t know of a set of rules that explain when you need an article and when you don’t – you just have to memorize the patterns and individual phrases.
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