French Prepositions

Prepositions are words which link two related parts of a sentence. There are many French prepositions and it is important to recognize and know when and when not to use them. These lessons include specific information about meaning, usage, and more.
 

Introduction to Prepositions
For beginners: prepositions defined, plus a short list of essential French prepositions.

Prepositions
Detailed information about the most common French prepositions, including meanings, usage, comparisons between prepositions, and related expressions and verbs.

Verbs with Prepositions - listed by preposition
Many French verbs require a certain preposition in order for the meaning of the verb to be complete, and unfortunately the prepositions required for French verbs are often not the same as the ones required by their English counterparts. In addition, some verbs that do require a preposition in English don't take one in French, and vice versa. Learn all about French verbs with prepositions and then take the test.

Verbs with Prepositions - listed by verb 
Many French verbs require a certain preposition in order for their meaning to be complete. Here is an alphabetical list of French verbs and the prepositions they need (if any).

Passive Infinitive
Even though the French infinitive translates as "to + verb," the French sometimes needs to be preceded by a preposition. This is the case with the passive infinitive, which is commonly used with indefinite and negative words.
  

Types of French Prepositions

Geographical Prepositions
Learn which prepositions to use with geographical names (cities, states, provinces, countries...)

Temporal Prepositions
Je vais dans or en une heure? Je vais pendant or pour deux semaines? Many French students are confused by the French prepositions for time. The problem is that there are so many different French temporal prepositions with different uses. Study this lesson to learn the difference between pendant, depuis, à, en, dans, and pour.
  

Specific French Prepositions

À
It means a lot more than "to, at, in."

À vs De
These little words cause big problems! Learn all about these common prepositions.

Après vs Derrière
Learn the difference between after and behind.

Avant vs Devant
Learn all about before and in front of.

Dans vs En
The prepositions en and dans can both be used to express time and location in French, but their uses are completely different.

De
Learn the many uses of de.

De vs Du, De la, Des
The preposition de tends to be very difficult for French students, even at advanced levels. Trying to figure out whether to use de, du, de la, or des can be a real challenge! This lesson is a summary of when to use de and when to use the indefinite article, partitive article, or de + definite article (which looks like the partitive - but isn't. Ugh!)

Depuis vs Il y a
The French temporal expressions depuis and il y a have distinctly different meanings and uses, yet they commonly present difficulties for French students. Here is a detailed explanation and comparison of depuis and il y a to help you clearly understand the difference once and for all.

Depuis vs pendant, en vs dans
Je vais dans or en une heure? Je vais pendant or pour deux semaines? Many French students are confused by the French prepositions for time. The problem is that there are so many different French temporal prepositions with different uses. Study this lesson to learn the difference between pendant, depuis, à, en, dans, and pour.

Dessus vs Dessous
Despite their similar spelling and subtle (to untrained ears) difference in pronunciation, dessus and dessous are exact opposites. They are used alone as well as in a number of adverbial phrases, such as au-dessus/dessous, là-dessus/dessous, par-dessus/dessous, and more.

Merci pour or Merci de?
When saying thank you for something, you must choose between two prepositions, depending on what the thing actually is.

Penser à vs Penser de
They both translate as "to think about," but if you think about it, that English phrase has two different meanings. Find out which is which with this lesson.

Pour
Learn what pour means, which verbs require it, and how to use it.

Vers vs Envers
Learn the difference between these words for "towards."

 

Tests
Test your knowledge of French prepositions.

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