Basic Prepositions of Place
A1Basic Prepositions of Place in French (à, dans, sur, sous, devant, derrière, entre, chez)
Prepositions of place tell where someone or something is. In French, small words like à, dans, sur, sous, devant, derrière, entre and chez are used to show position (on, in, under, between, at someone’s place, etc.). Below you will find clear meanings, rules for formation (articles and contractions), many natural examples in French, and common learner mistakes to avoid.
Overview — What each preposition roughly means in English
- à = at / in / to (used for points, cities, some places)
- dans = in / inside
- sur = on / on top of (contact with a surface)
- sous = under / below
- devant = in front of
- derrière = behind
- entre = between
- chez = at (someone's home or business; at the place of)
These English glosses help, but usage is not always identical; examples below show the real patterns.
Detailed guide to each preposition
- Use à to say that someone or something is located at a point or place in a general sense (often with towns, addresses, public places). It is also used with verbs of motion: aller à (go to), venir à (come to).
How it combines with articles
- à + le = au (e.g., au parc)
- à + les = aux (e.g., aux États-Unis)
- à + la = à la (no change)
- à + l' = à l' (before a vowel or mute h)
Examples (French → English)
- J'habite à Lyon. → I live in Lyon.
- Je vais au cinéma. → I'm going to the cinema.
- Le rendez-vous est à la gare. → The appointment is at the station.
- Nous partons aux Pays-Bas demain. → We leave for the Netherlands tomorrow.
- Il travaille à l'hôpital. → He works at the hospital.
- Je suis à la maison. → I'm at home. (general state: "I'm home")
Common mistakes
- Saying "je vais à le cinéma" (wrong). Correct: "je vais au cinéma." Remember au / aux.
- Confusing à and dans: "Je suis à la maison" (I’m home) vs "Je suis dans la maison" (I’m physically inside the house, maybe while someone else is outside). Use dans when you mean inside/enclosed.
- Use dans to express being inside an enclosed or bounded space: inside a box, a room, a building, or a clearly delimited area.
Examples (French → English)
- Le chat est dans la boîte. → The cat is in the box.
- Elle est dans sa chambre. → She is in her room.
- Il y a trois personnes dans la salle. → There are three people in the room.
- Mets les documents dans le dossier. → Put the documents in the folder.
- Le pain est dans le sac. → The bread is in the bag.
Common mistakes
- Using dans when à is correct for conventions: "Je suis à la banque" (I’m at the bank — common phrase) vs "Je suis dans la banque" (unusual; means physically inside the bank building). Use dans when you want to emphasize being inside the interior.
- Use sur when something is on the surface of something else (contact or placement on top of).
Examples (French → English)
- Le livre est sur la table. → The book is on the table.
- La tasse est sur l'étagère. → The cup is on the shelf.
- L'affiche est sur le mur. → The poster is on the wall.
- Mets le vase sur la commode. → Put the vase on the dresser.
Notes and common mistakes
- sur often implies contact with the surface. If an object is above but not touching the surface, French often uses au-dessus de (above) instead of sur.
- Ex.: La lampe est au-dessus de la table (above the table, not touching).
- sur can also be non-spatial: un livre sur la France = a book about France. Context matters.
- Use sous to indicate something is under or beneath another object (often implying cover or shelter).
Examples (French → English)
- Le chat est sous la table. → The cat is under the table.
- Cache la lettre sous le tapis. → Hide the letter under the rug.
- La cave est sous la maison. → The cellar is under the house.
Notes
- En dessous de is another way to say "under/below," often used when emphasizing position: "La boîte est en dessous de la table."
- Devant means in front of (the front side of). Use it for a position that is at the front of an object or building.
Examples (French → English)
- La voiture est devant la maison. → The car is in front of the house.
- Il se tient devant la porte. → He is standing in front of the door.
- Il y a une file d'attente devant le magasin. → There is a queue in front of the shop.
Common confusion
- Devant vs en face de: "devant" often means at the front or close to the front; "en face de" means opposite/facing across from (on the other side of the street).
- Ex.: Le café est en face de la bibliothèque (the café is opposite the library).
- Derrière means behind — at the back of something.
Examples (French → English)
- Le jardin est derrière la maison. → The garden is behind the house.
- Le chien se cache derrière l'arbre. → The dog is hiding behind the tree.
- La sortie se trouve derrière le bâtiment. → The exit is located behind the building.
- Entre = between. Use when something is positioned between two items or between several defined items (often two, but it can be used with more).
Examples (French → English)
- La pharmacie est entre la boulangerie et la banque. → The pharmacy is between the bakery and the bank.
- Entre toi et moi, je préfère ce film. → Between you and me, I prefer this movie.
- Il a mis la chaise entre la table et la fenêtre. → He put the chair between the table and the window.
Note
- Entre is usually used with clearly identified elements. For expressing "among a group" (not individual items), use parmi instead: "parmi les arbres" = among the trees.
- Chez means at the home/place of or at a professional's location or a company. It emphasizes "at the place of a person or establishment." Use for people (chez Paul), professions (chez le médecin), companies (chez Renault), and possessive expressions (chez moi, chez toi).
Examples (French → English)
- Je vais chez Marie. → I'm going to Marie's (house).
- Nous dînons chez mes parents ce soir. → We're having dinner at my parents' tonight.
- Il travaille chez Google. → He works at Google.
- Je vais chez le médecin demain. → I'm going to the doctor's office tomorrow.
- Chez moi, on mange vers 19 heures. → At my place, we eat around 7 p.m.
Common mistakes
- Don’t try to contract chez with the definite article. Correct: "chez le médecin," not *"ch'au médecin."
- Distinguish chez vs à la / dans: "Je suis chez Paul" emphasizes Paul (his home), while "Je suis à la maison" is general (I'm at home). For institutions you can often use either with a nuance: "chez le dentiste" (at the dentist's practice) vs "à la clinique" (at the clinic).
How prepositions combine with people and pronouns
Prepositional pronouns
- After these prepositions you often use tonic pronouns (stress pronouns): moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles.
- Ex.: chez moi, devant lui, entre nous, sous elle → but note natural order: "sous elle" is rare; you would say "sous elle" only in special constructions. More common: "sous sa chaise" (under her chair).
Replacing place phrases with the pronoun y
- The pronoun y often replaces prepositional phrases of place (à, dans, sur, sous, devant, derrière, entre, chez) that refer to a thing or place (not a person): Je vais à la bibliothèque → J'y vais. Je suis chez Paul → J'y suis. Note: do not use y to replace a phrase that names a person directly (use en or a different structure).
Common mistakes and quick tips to avoid them
- Confusing à and dans: Use dans when you mean "inside" an enclosed space. Use à for a general point or commonly used phrases (à la maison, à l'école, à Paris).
- Ex.: "Je suis à l'école" (I am at school / attending school) vs "Je suis dans l'école" (I am inside the school building).
- Forgetting au / aux: Remember to contract à + le = au and à + les = aux.
- Wrong: "Je vais à le cinéma." Right: "Je vais au cinéma."
- Using sur when you mean au-dessus de: sur implies contact. If the object is above but not touching, use au-dessus de.
- Ex.: "Le tableau est sur le mur" (touching the wall) vs "La lampe est au-dessus de la table" (hanging above the table).
- Confusing chez with à or dans: Use chez for someone’s home or for a person/professional/company. Use à / dans for places that are not tied to a person.
- Ex.: "Je vais chez le médecin" (to the doctor’s office / doctor) vs "Je vais à l'hôpital" (to the hospital — the building).
- Entre vs parmi: Entre is generally for a position between two (or clearly identified) items. Parmi means among (inside a larger group) and is not used for precise positions between two items.
Quick summary / cheat sheet (short examples)
- à (point / city / general place): J'habite à Nice. → I live in Nice.
- dans (inside): Le courrier est dans la boîte. → The mail is in the box.
- sur (on a surface): La tasse est sur la table. → The cup is on the table.
- sous (under): Le chat est sous la chaise. → The cat is under the chair.
- devant (in front of): Il attend devant la gare. → He waits in front of the station.
- derrière (behind): La remise est derrière la maison. → The shed is behind the house.
- entre (between): L'hôtel est entre la gare et le parc. → The hotel is between the station and the park.
- chez (at someone’s place / at a business): Je vais chez mon ami. → I'm going to my friend's place.
Brief glossary of useful terms
- Preposition: a small word that shows relationships of place, direction, time, etc. (e.g., à, dans, sur).
- Contraction: when two words combine into one form (à + le = au).
- Tonic pronoun (stress pronoun): pronouns used after prepositions (moi, toi, lui...).
- y: a pronoun that often replaces a place phrase (there).
Final tips
- Pay attention to whether you mean "on the surface" (sur) or "inside" (dans).
- Learn the contractions (au, aux) by heart; they are common.
- Use chez when you mean "at the home or place of" a person or business.
- Listen and copy natural phrases: "je suis à la maison," "je suis chez moi," and notice the small meaning differences.
This guide gives you the most frequent locative prepositions in French with clear examples. Keep these contrasts in mind (particularly à vs dans, sur vs au‑dessus de, and chez vs à/la) and you will avoid the most common mistakes.