Prepositions describe where and when something is in relation to something else. Get to grips with some commonly used French prepositions and check your understanding with activities and a quiz.
En changes its meaning depending on the context of the sentence, including ‘to’, ‘in’, ‘by’ or ‘made of’. En is never followed by a definite articleMeans 'the'. Definite articles change depending on whether the noun it goes with is masculine, feminine, singular or plural.(le, la, les.)
Countries
Use en to mean ‘to’ or ‘in’ a feminineAll nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. country. For example:
Je vais aller en France/Espagne/Italie/Belgique. – I’m going to go to France/Spain/Italy/Belgium.
J’habite en Angleterre. – I live in England.
Most countries are feminine singular and are preceded by en. When talking about a masculine or plural country, use the definite article (au or aux.)
Je vais au Canada/Japon/Portugal/Maroc/Sénégal/Brésil. - I’m going to Canada/Japan/Portugal/Morocco/Senegal/Brazil.
J’aimerais aller aux États-Unis. - I’d like to go to the United States.
Transport
Use en to mean ‘by’ a form of transport. For example:
Nous sommes allés à Paris en voiture. – We went to Paris by car.
Elle va aller en avion. – She’s going to go by plane.
The exceptions to this rule are à pied (on foot), à moto (by motorbike) and à vélo (by bike.)
Languages
Use en to say you are doing something in a particular language. For example:
Nous avons parlé en français. – We spoke in French.
J’aime regarder les films en espagnol. – I like watching films in Spanish.
Months and seasons
Months and seasons are preceded by en, meaning ‘in’. For example:
Son anniversaire est en juillet. – His birthday is in July.
Es-tu allé en vacances en hiver ? – Did you go on holiday in winter?
The exception to this rule is au printemps (in spring.)
Materials
Use en to describe what material something is made of. For example:
Mes chaussures sont en cuir. – My shoes are made of leather.
Elles ont acheté des bagues en or. – They bought some gold rings.
Present participle
Use en with the present participle/gerundThe equivalent of the English verb form which ends in -ing, eg jumping, singing, working. (ending in –ant) to express ‘while doing’ or ‘upon doing’ something. For example:
En arrivant à la gare, j'ai acheté des billets. – On arriving at the station, I bought the tickets.
J’ai mangé mon dîner en regardant la télé. – I ate my dinner while watching TV.
Specific expressions
Use en in some specific expressions. For example:
en ville – in town
en général – in general
Translate the following sentences into French, paying attention to where you’ll need to use en.
Question
In summer, she likes to go to Spain.
En été, elle aime aller en Espagne.
Use en before seasons except for printemps. With feminine countries such as Spain, en means ‘to’ or ‘in’. In this context, it means ‘to’.
Question
I prefer to read books in French.
Je préfère lire des livres en français.
With a language, en means ‘in’.
Question
Do you go to school by car?
Vas-tu en voiture au collège ?
With transport, en means ‘by’.
Question
In general I prefer to go into town by train.
En général, je préfère aller en ville en train.
Use en in the special phrases for ‘in general’ and ‘in/into town’ as well as before transport.
