In this section, you will learn about prepositions of place
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On étudie !
Les prépositions de lieu
Prepositions of location (les prépositions de lieu) will help you zero in on a location by describing the spatial relationship between people, places, and things. But first, it is important to remember how to ask and say where something is located:
Asking where something is located
Français
Anglais
Français
Anglais
Où se trouve... ?
Where is...?
Où se trouvent.... ?
Where are...?
Où est... ?
Où sont... ?
C'est où... ?
C'est où... ?
Il, elle est où... ?
Ils, elles sont où... ?
Saying where something is located
Français
Anglais
Français
Anglais
C'est...
It's...
Ce sont...
They are...
Il, elle est...
It's...
Ils, elles sont...
They are...
Here is how to distinguish left from right, and your four cardinal directions:
Vocabulaire
Français
Anglais
le nord
north
le sud
south
l'est
east
l'ouest
west
la droite
right
la gauche
left
Note
For l'est, you must pronounce every consonant (like in "best"), unlike the silent consonants in the est form of the verbe être.
Now let's look at the two types of prepositional phrases of location.
I. [être] + [preposition of location]. You could simply indicate the direction something is in from where you are or someone else is standing. These prepositions are listed in the left column of the table below. For example, you just say:
C'est au nord. (It's to the north.)
Elle est à gauche. (It's on the left.)
C'est par là. (It's that way. It's over there.)
Il est loin. (It is far [away]).
C'est à côté. (It's next door.)
II. [être] + [preposition of location] + [definite article, noun]. To put 2 things in relation to each other use the prepositions listed below in the right column. Here is the example of the preposition à côté de (next to):
Marc est à côté de Michelle. (Marc is next to Michelle.)
L'épicerie est à côté de l'hôpital. (The grocery store is next to the hospital.)
La parc est à côté des restaurants. (The park is next to the restaurants.)
Le café est à côté du musée. (The park is next to the restaurants.)
The difference between these two types can be seen here:
Marc est à côté. (Marc is next door.)
Marc est à côté de Michelle. (Marc is next to Michelle.)
The addition, de allows you to locate Marc in relation to something or someone else, in this case Michelle. It has the same function as the English word to in the example above. Note, however, that not all prepositions of the second type need to use de.
Here is a list of the most common prepositions of location:
Prépositions de lieu
Français
Anglais
Français
Anglais
au nord
to the north
au nord de
to the north of
au sud
to the south
au sud de
to the south of
à l’est
to the east
à l’est de
to the east of
à l’ouest
to the west
à l’ouest de
to the west of
à droite
right, to, on the right
à droite de
to the right of
à gauche
left, to, on the left
à gauche de
to the left of
loin
far
loin de
far from
près
close
près de
close to
à côté
next to, next door
à côté de
next to, beside
devant
in front
devant
in front of
derrière
behind
derrière
behind
en bas
bown, below
en bas de
at the bottom of
—
—
entre
between
en face
opposite, in front
en face de
opposite, in front of
en haut
on top, above
en haut de
on top of
au-dessus
above, over
au-dessus de
above, over
—
—
sur
on
au-dessous
below, underneath, beneath
au-dessous de
below, under, beneath
—
—
sous
under, below
dedans
inside
dans
in, inside of, on (=a street)
Many of these prepositional phrases in the right column require a de. When they are followed by le or les, you need to use the appropriate contraction (du or des).
— Où est la faculté des sciences ? (Where is the Faculty of Sciences?)
— Elle est en face des laboratoires, près du bureau des étudiants. (It's in front of the labs, near the Student Union.)
Notice how the prepositions entre (between), sur (on) and sous (under) cannot stand alone and must always relate two things spatially.