Languages › French How to Use the French Preposition 'à' Easy Ways to Use This Tiny Mutifacted, Multifunctional Dynamo Print Bitran Marc / EyeEm / Getty Images French Grammar Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Team Updated on January 29, 2019 Despite its diminutive size, à is a hugely important French preposition and one of the most important words in the French language. Its meanings and uses in French are many and varied, but at its most basic, à generally means 'to,' 'at' or 'in.' Compare à to de, meaning 'of' or 'from,' with which it's often confused. À Contractions When à is followed by the definite articles le and les, à contracts with themas a single word. à + le = au (au magasin) à + les = aux (aux maisons) But à does not contract with la or l'. à + la = à la (à la banque) à + l' = à l' (à l'hôpital) In addition, à is not contracted with le and les when they are direct objects. Common Uses of 'À' 1. Location or destination J'habite à Paris. > I live in Paris. Je vais à Rome. > I'm going to Rome. Je suis à la banque. > I'm at the bank. Read More How to Use the French Preposition 'de': By ThoughtCo Team 2. Distance in time or space J'habite à 10 mètres de lui. > I live 10 meters from him.Il est à 5 minutes de moi. > He is 5 minutes from me. 3. Point in time Nous arrivons à 5h00. > We arrive at 5:00.Il est mort à 92 ans. > He died at the age of 92. 4. Manner, style, or characteristic Il habite à la française. > He lives in the French style.un enfant aux yeux bleus > blue-eyed child; child with blue eyesfait à la main > made by handaller à pied > to go on / by foot 5. Possession un ami à moi > a friend of mineCe livre est à Jean > This is Jean's book 6. Measurement acheter au kilo > to buy by the kilogrampayer à la semaine > to pay by the week 7. Purpose or use une tasse à thé > teacup; cup for teaun sac à dos > backpack; pack for the back 8. In the passive infinitive À louer > for rentJe n'ai rien à lire. > I have nothing to read. 9. With Certain Verbs, Phrases Followed by an Infinitive The French preposition à is required after certain verbs and phrases when they are followed by an infinitive. The English translation may take an infinitive (to learn how to do something) or a gerund (to stop eating). aider à > to help to s'amuser à > to amuse oneself ___-ing apprendre à > to learn how to s'apprêter à > to get ready to arriver à > to manage / succeed in ___-ing s'attendre à > to expect to s'autoriser à > to authorize / allow to avoir à > to have to / be obliged to chercher à > to attempt to commencer à > to begin to / ___-ing consentir à > to consent to continuer à > to continue to / ___-ing décider (quelqu'un) à > to persuade (someone) to se décider à > to make up one's mind to encourager à > to encourage to s'engager à > to get around to enseigner à > to teach to s'habituer à > to get used to hésiter à > to hesitate to s'intéresser à > to be interested in inviter (quelqu'un) à > to invite (someone) to se mettre à > to start, set about ___-ing obliger à > to oblige to parvenir à > to succeed in ___-ing passer du temps à > to spend time ___-ing perdre du temps à > to waste time ___-ing persister à > to persist in ___-ing se plaire à > to take pleasure in ___-ing pousser (quelqu'un) à > to urge/push (someone) to se préparer à > to prepare oneself to recommencer à > to begin ___-ing again réfléchir à > to consider ___-ing renoncer à > to give up ___-ing résister à > to resist ___-ing réussir à > to succeed in ___-ing rêver à > to dream of ___-ing servir à > to serve to songer à > to dream of ___-ing tarder à > to delay / be late in ___-ing tenir à > to hold (someone) to / insist on ___-ing venir à > to happen to 10. With Verbs That Need an Indirect Object The French preposition à is required after many French verbs and phrases that need an indirect object, but there is often no equivalent preposition in English. acheter à > to buy from arracher à > to grab, tear away from assister à (la réunion) > to attend (the meeting) conseiller à > to advise convenir à (quelqu'un) / la situation > to please; to be suitable for someone / the situation croire à > to believe something demander (quelque chose) à (quelqu'un) > to ask someone (something) défendre à > to forbid demander à (quelqu'un) > to ask (someone) to déplaire à > to displease; to be displeasing to désobéir à > to disobey dire à > to say; to tell donner un stylo à (quelqu'un) > to give (someone) a pen emprunter un livre à (quelqu'un) > to borrow a book from (someone) envoyer (qqch) à (quelqu'un) > to send (something) to (someone) être à > to belong to faire attention à > to pay attention to se fier à (quelqu'un) > to trust (someone) goûter à (quelque chose) > to taste (something) s'habituer à > to get used to interdire (quelque chose) à quelqu'un > to forbid someone (something) s'intéresser à > to be interested in jouer à > to play (a game or sport) manquer à > to miss someone mêler à > to mingle with; to join in nuire à > to harm obéir à > to obey s'opposer à > to oppose ordonner à > to order pardonner à > to pardon; to forgive parler à > to talk to penser à > to think of / about permettre à > to permit plaire à > to please; to be pleasing to profiter à > to benefit; to be profitable to promettre à > to promise réfléchir à > to consider; to reflect upon répondre à > to answer résister à > to resist ressembler à > to resemble réussir à l'examen > to pass the test serrer la main à (quelqu'un) > to shake hands with someone servir à > to be used for / as songer à > to dream; to think of succéder à > to succeed; to follow survivre à > to survive téléphoner à > to call voler (quelque chose) à quelqu'un > to steal (something) from someone Notes Remember that à plus an inanimate noun can be replaced by the adverbial pronoun y. For example, je m'y suis habitué > I got used to it. À plus a person can usually be replaced by an indirect object pronoun that is placed in front of the verb (e.g., Il me parle). However, a few verbs and expressions do not allow a preceding indirect object pronoun. Instead, they require that you keep the preposition after the verb and follow it with a stressed pronoun (e.g., Je pense à toi). Additional Resources Passive infinitive: a grammatical structure in which something other than a verb needs to be followed by à + infinitive. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Use the French Preposition 'à'." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/a-french-preposition-1368910. Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). How to Use the French Preposition 'à'. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/a-french-preposition-1368910 Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Use the French Preposition 'à'." 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