# Prepositions of Place

https://langs123.com/en/french/prepositions/prepositions-lieu/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Prepositions of place, such as **à**, **dans**, **sur**, **sous**, **devant**, **derrière** and **chez**, say where someone or something is. Before a person’s name, French uses **chez**, never **à**: Je vais **chez** Paul. Elle est **chez** le médecin.

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **à** | the place where you are or where you are going | Je suis **à** la maison. | I’m at home. |
| **dans**, **sur**, **sous** | dans: inside; sur: on top; sous: underneath | Le livre est **sur** la table. | The book is on the table. |
| **devant**, **derrière**, **entre** | devant: in front; derrière: behind; entre: between two | La banque est **entre** la poste et le café. | The bank is between the post office and the café. |
| **à côté de**, **près de**, **loin de**, **en face de** | these phrases end in **de** | L’école est **près de** la gare. | The school is near the station. |
| **chez** | **chez** + person: chez Paul, chez moi | Je vais **chez** le médecin. | I’m going to the doctor’s. |
| **au**, **aux** | **à** + **le** → **au** ; **à** + **les** → **aux** | Il est **au** café. | He’s at the café. |
| **du**, **des** | **de** + **le** → **du** ; **de** + **les** → **des** | Le café est **près du** parc. | The café is near the park. |
| **en** | **en** + noun with no article: en classe, en ville | Elle travaille **en** ville. | She works in town. |
| Trap | before a person: **chez**, not **à** | Je vais **chez** Paul. | I’m going to Paul’s. |
| Trap | **de** after **à côté**, **près**, **loin**, **en face** | Il habite **loin de** l’école. | He lives far from the school. |

## Overview

- A preposition of place stands before a noun and says where it is. Le chat est **sur** la table. / Le sac est **sous** la chaise. (The cat is on the table. / The bag is under the chair.)
- The preposition never changes, in the feminine or the plural. Le chat est **sur** le lit. / Le chat est **sur** la table. / Les chats sont **sur** les chaises. (The cat is on the bed. / The cat is on the table. / The cats are on the chairs.)
- The same preposition follows **être** (where you are) and **aller** (where you go). Je suis **à** la gare. / Je vais **à** la gare. (I’m at the station. / I’m going to the station.)
- **à** contracts with **le** and **les**: **au**, **aux**. See Articles. Il est **au** café. / Elle est **aux** toilettes. (He’s at the café. / She’s in the toilets.)
- For cities and countries (**à Paris**, **en France**, **au Canada**), see Cities and Countries.
- To say that something exists somewhere, see There Is: il y a.
- To replace **à** or **dans** + place with a pronoun, see The Pronouns y and en.

## The simple prepositions

| Preposition | Meaning | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **à** | a place where you are or where you are going | Léa est **à** l’école. | Léa is at school. |
| **dans** | inside a space | Mes clés sont **dans** mon sac. | My keys are in my bag. |
| **sur** | on the surface of something, in contact with it | Le téléphone est **sur** la table. | The phone is on the table. |
| **sous** | below something | Le chat dort **sous** le lit. | The cat is sleeping under the bed. |
| **devant** | at the front of something, facing it | La voiture est **devant** la maison. | The car is in front of the house. |
| **derrière** | at the back of something | Le jardin est **derrière** la maison. | The garden is behind the house. |
| **entre** | in the middle of two things or two people | La banque est **entre** la poste et le café. | The bank is between the post office and the café. |
| **chez** | at someone’s home, surgery or shop | Nous allons **chez** Paul. | We’re going to Paul’s. |

- A few places take **en** with no article: **en classe**, **en ville**, **en cours**. Les élèves sont **en** classe. / Elle travaille **en** ville. (The pupils are in class. / She works in town.)

## Phrases with de

| Preposition | Meaning | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **à côté de** | right beside, very close | Le café est **à côté de** la poste. | The café is next to the post office. |
| **près de** | a short distance away | Nous habitons **près de** la gare. | We live near the station. |
| **loin de** | a long distance away | Le parc est **loin de** la gare. | The park is far from the station. |
| **en face de** | on the other side, facing | La poste est **en face de** la banque. | The post office is opposite the bank. |

- These phrases always end in **de**; the simple prepositions take no **de**. Le chat est **devant** la porte. / Le chat est **près de** la porte. (The cat is in front of the door. / The cat is near the door.)
- **de** contracts with **le** and **les**: **du**, **des**. See Articles. Le café est à côté **du** parc. / La poste est en face **des** magasins. (The café is next to the park. / The post office is opposite the shops.)
- After these phrases, a person is a stressed pronoun: **à côté de moi**, **loin de lui**. See Stressed Pronouns. Ma sœur est **à côté de** moi. / Tu es **loin de** nous. (My sister is next to me. / You are far from us.)

## Chez

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **chez** + stressed pronoun | Je suis **chez moi**. / Tu viens **chez nous** ? | I’m at home. / Are you coming to our place? |
| **chez** + first name or name | On dîne **chez** Paul. / Elle dort **chez** ses parents. | We’re having dinner at Paul’s. / She’s sleeping at her parents’. |
| **chez** + doctor or shopkeeper | Il va **chez** le dentiste. / Je suis **chez** le coiffeur. | He’s going to the dentist’s. / I’m at the hairdresser’s. |
| **chez** + company | Il travaille **chez** Renault. | He works at Renault. |

- **Chez** replaces **à** before a person and takes no article of place. Je vais **chez** le médecin. / Je vais **à** l’hôpital. (I’m going to the doctor’s. / I’m going to the hospital.)

## Compare: à and dans

| Place | à | dans |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **la maison** | Elle est **à** la maison. (She’s at home.) | Il y a un chat **dans** la maison. (There is a cat in the house.) |
| **la banque** | Je suis **à** la banque. (I’m at the bank.) | Les clients sont **dans** la banque. (The customers are inside the bank.) |

- **À** gives the place; **dans** says you are inside. Nous sommes **au** restaurant. / Nous sommes **dans** la salle du restaurant. (We’re at the restaurant. / We’re in the restaurant’s dining room.)

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Je suis à le café. | Je suis **au** café. | **à** + **le** becomes **au** |
| Je vais à Paul. | Je vais **chez** Paul. | before a person, **chez** replaces **à** |
| La poste est à côté la gare. | La poste est à côté **de** la gare. | **à côté**, **près**, **loin** and **en face** end in **de** |
| Le café est près de le parc. | Le café est près **du** parc. | **de** + **le** becomes **du** |
| Le chat est devant de la porte. | Le chat est **devant** la porte. | **devant** takes no **de**, though English says “in front of” |