What is a French Preposition of Place?
A French preposition of place is a little word which shows the location of someone or something.
Le petit chien est dans son panier.
The little dog is in his dog bed.
Sometimes, a preposition of place shows the location of someone or something compared to something else. These are also called prepositions of movement.
Le chat est sous la table et le vase est sur la table.
The cat is under the table and the vase is on the table.
And sometimes, a preposition of place introduces a geographical place like a country, or a city, or a region.
Moi, jâhabite Ă Paris. Et toi ? Est-ce que tu habites en France ?
I live in Paris. And you? Do you live in France?
Most prepositions of places are pretty straightforward in French and often you can translate them directly from English.
Unfortunately, itâs not the case with French prepositions of place introducing geographic places: I will explain them in depth in this article.
But first, letâs go over the simple French prepositions of place.
9 Essential French Prepositions of Place
Prepositions of places are often used when indicating the position of something or someone, in combination with the French verb ĂȘtre. Click to access my free audio guide featuring the conjugation and pronunciation of to be in French: ĂȘtre.
For now letâs see a list of common French preposition of place.
Iâll include an example and translations so you can see how to use them.
- Ă â at, in
Je suis Ă la maison.
Iâm at home. - Chez â at someoneâs place
I am at Pierreâs : je suis chez Pierre.
Je vais chez le médecin
Iâm going to the doctorâs
Note that you could say both âchez moiâ or âĂ la maisonâ for Iâm home! - Dans â in or inside
Le petit chien est dans son panier.
The little dog is in his dog bed. - DerriĂšre
Behind something, in the back of.
Le jardin est derriĂšre la maison.
The garden is behind the house.
I know this preposition of place is weird for English students but we do use it a lot in French. - Devant
In front of
Devant chez moi, il y a la poste.
The post-officie is in front of my house.
This is a good example of how French prepositions can combine to create more complex ones. - Entre
Between
Je suis assise entre Pierre et Anne.
Iâm sitting between Pierre and Anne. - Sous
Le chat est sous la table.
The cat is under the table.
Isnât it always the case? - Sur
Le vase est sur la table.
The vase is on the table. - Vers
Toward, near
Il marche vers toi.
He is walking toward you.
20 More Complex Prepositions of Place
Now sometimes prepositions combine together to make what is called in grammatical linguo âFrench prepositional phrasesâ. Lovely isnât it?
They are still commonly referred to as prepositions of place or expressions of place and are very useful when giving directions in French â like when you are driving in France for example (see the next paragraph for examples these French prepositions of place used in context).
Many of these prepositions of place can be used at the end of a sentence, or be followed by, well a place actually! In this case, youâd use âdeâ or âd'â to introduce the place.
For example :
Va Ă droite
Go/ turn to the right
Le supermarché est à droite de la banque
The supermarket is to the right of the bank
- à cÎté (de)
Next to, nearby - Ă droite (de)
To the right (of)
Be careful to pronounce the âtâ of droite here. - Tout droit
Straight ahead
At the opposite of âĂ droiteâ, you donât pronounce the final âtâ of âtout droitâ.
This could make a lot of difference when you are trying to understand directions! - Ă gauche (de)
To the left (of) - Ă lâextĂ©rieur (de)
Outside (of) - Ă lâintĂ©rieur (de)
Inside (of) - Au coin de
At the corner (of) - Au-dessous (de)
Below, underneath - Au dessus (de)
Above, higher than
âAu-dessousâ and âau-dessusâ have a very similar pronunciation. It can be confusing even to the French so we often use a hand motion to reinforce these prepositions of place. - Autour (de)
Around
I often hear students say âaujourdâhui, je suis restĂ© autour ma maisonâ â when theyâd like to say âtoday, I stayed aroundâ.
Unfortunately that doesnât translate well in French. Weâd just say âje suis restĂ© chez moiâ.
Autour is really physical:
âil place ses mains autour de sa tailleâ â he places his hands around her waist. - En arriĂšre (de)
Behind - En avant
Onwards
Thatâs what Picard says! â Yes, thatâs a Star Teck reference! - En bas (de)
Below, at the bottom of, downstairs - En haut (de)
Above, at the top of, upstairs - En dehors (de)
Outside (of) - En dessous (de)
Below, lower than - En face de
In front of, facing, across from - En haut de
Above, at the top of - Loin (de)
Far (from) - PrĂšs (de)
Near, next (to)
These prepositions of place are used throughout the ongoing novel which illustrate my French audiobooks, but directions are covered in particular in chapter 6 of my intermediate French audiobook learning method, Ă Moi Paris L4.

A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers.
How to Give Driving Directions in French đ
For the pleasure of it, here is an extract of my audiobook Ă Moi Paris L4, chapter 6 â but without the audio though⊠Here is a link to my French bilingual audiobook where youâll find the whole story and of course the audio!
So, the story: Mary and Patrick are driving to Patrickâs older brother place. Mary is following the directions Arnaud (Patrickâs brother) sent her.
Mary
Alors, Ă Septeuil, il faut prendre Ă droite au carrefour oĂč il y a la boulangerie. AprĂšs, on continue tout droit jusquâĂ la mairie, et lĂ , il faut tourner Ă gauche.
So, at Septeuil, you must turn right at the crossroads where thereâs a bakery. Afterwards we keep going straight to the town hall, and there, we must turn to the left.
Patrick
Ok⊠Je vois la mairieâŠ
Ok⊠I see the town hallâŠ
Mary
Ok, donc tu vas Ă gauche, et tu continues pendant environ 5 minutes. Arnaud dit quâil faut faire attention parce que ce nâest pas une route prioritaire, et il y a des croisements qui sont des prioritĂ©s Ă droite, donc il faut aller doucement.
Ok, so you go left and you continue for about 5 minutes. Arnaud says that you must be careful because this is not a road which has the right of way and there are some intersections where there is a right hand right of way, so you must drive slowly.
Patrick
Je déteste les priorités à droite. Quelle rÚgle idiote.
I hate the right hand right of way. What an idiotic rule.
Mary
Ăa, je suis bien dâaccord avec toi. Alors, aprĂšs il dit quâon doit passer devant une grosse ferme, et prendre Ă droite ; regarde lĂ -bas, tu crois que câest ça ?
On that, I totally agree with you. So after he says that we should pass in front of a big farm, and then go right, look there, you think thatâs it?
Patrick
Euh⊠câest une ferme, mais elle nâest pas trĂšs grosse. Je fais quoi ?
Hum⊠Itâs a farm, but itâs not very big. What do I do?
Mary
Continue tout droit, on verra bien⊠Il dit quâau bout de cette route, il y a un rond- point avec un panneau qui indique Courgent.
Continue straight ahead, weâll see⊠He said at the end of the road there is a roundabout with a sign that will indicate Courgent.
Ils continuent donc tout droit, 2 minutes se passent, mais toujours pas de rond-point. Ils décident de faire demi-tour, prennent à gauche avant la ferme, et trouvent le rond-point. Ils suivent donc la direction Courgent.
They continue [driving] ahead, 2 minutes go by, but still no round about. They decide to turn around, they take a left in front of the farm and find the roundabout. Then they continue in the direction of Courgent.
Now letâs study the rules of French prepositions used with a geographic place.
French Prepositions + Geographic Place Recap đ
Since what follows is quite long, Iâll start with a short recap of the French prepositions of geographic place rules.
Here are the general rules to say your are in a geographic place, or going to a geographical in French.
First you may need to review what we mean by âfeminineâ and âmasculineâ in French grammar.
- Places ending in âEâ = feminine = use âenâ
Je suis en France. - Places ending in any other vowel = masculine = use âauâ
Je vais au Canada, je suis au Congo. - Places ending in a consonant = masculine = use âauâ
Je vais au Japon. - Places ending in âSâ are usually masculine, but not always. Use âauxâ
Je vais aux Ătats-Unis. - Use âenâ + places starting with a vowel or a mute h (no matter whether they are feminine or masculine)
Je vais en Iran, je vais en Ăthiopie. - Use Ă + cities.
Je suis Ă Paris.
Keep in mind there are many exceptions, and very often, the preposition of place youâll use in France with a particular region is a matter of habits, so has to be learned by heart.
Au Texas, dans le Maryland, en Bourgogne, dans la CreuseâŠ
Now letâs study the prepositions used with a geographic place in depth.
Geographic Place â French Preposition Rules
French place ending in âeâ = feminine
When the name of a region ends in anâeâ, itâs usually feminine.
La France, lâAngleterre, la Suisse, la Chine, lâInde, la Californie, lâAsieâŠ
- To say youâre going to this place, use âenâ:
Je vais⊠en France, en Italie, en Afrique, en Floride⊠- To say youâre in this place, use âenâ:
Je suis⊠en France, en Italie, en Afrique, en Floride⊠- To say youâre coming from this place, useâdeâ:
Je viens de France, dâItalie, dâAfrique, de FlorideâŠ

There are many exceptions though, such as le Mexique, le Maine, le Zimbabwe, le CambodgeâŠ
French place ending in other vowel or consonant = masculine
When the name of a region ends in any other vowel but âeâ, or a consonant, itâs usually masculine:
Le Canada, le Japon, le Portugal, le Burundi, le Luxembourg, le TexasâŠ
- To say youâre going to this place, use âauâ:
Je vais⊠au Niger, au BrĂ©sil, au Maroc, au Congo - To say youâre in this place, use âauâ:
Je suis⊠au Niger, au BrĂ©sil, au Maroc, au Congo - To say youâre coming from this place, use âduâ:
Je viens⊠du Niger, du Brésil, du Maroc, du Congo

When a masculine country starts with a vowel or an H, use the rules of the feminine countries:
LâIran, lâOuganda, Oman, Angola, IsraĂ«lâŠ.
Je vais en Iran, je viens dâAngola, je suis en IsraĂ«l
For more info on country gender, please see this official list
http://publications.europa.eu/code/fr/fr-5000500.htm
Nationalities and prepositions of place in French are explained in depth + exercises + story to illustrate the point of grammar + audio in my beginner French audiobook learning method âĂ Moi Paris L1â, Chapter 11.

A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers.
Particular Cases About French Prepositions of Place
Unfortunately, there are too many exceptions to be listed⊠So be ready to face many particular cases.
Here are some pointers:
French Region ending in a âsâ = often plural
A few names of regions are plural.
Most plural regions end in an S (Les Ătats-Unis, les Maldives, les Pays-Bas, les PhilippinesâŠ), but not all regions ending in an S are plural (le Laos, lâArkansas, le Texas are some of the many exemples).
- To say youâre going to this place, use âauxâ:
Je vais⊠aux Ătats-Unis, aux Maldives - To say youâre in this place, use âauxâ:
Je suis⊠aux Ătats-Unis, aux Maldives - To say youâre coming from this place, use âdesâ
Je viens⊠des Ătats-Unis, des Maldives
Note the pronunciation of âles Ătats-Unisâ â there are 2 strong liaisons in Z, whether itâs introduced by âles, aux or desâ = ZĂ©ta Zuni
French prepositions of place for cities
Cities are usually not introduced by any article, and itâs unclear whether they are feminine or masculine. According to lâAccadĂ©mie Française, both genders are possible for cities.
So you could say Paris est beau. I prefer saying Paris est belle because Paris refers to la ville de Paris.
But I digress. Letâs go back to what preposition of place you should use with cities.
- For most cities, to say youâre going to this city, use âĂ â:
Je vais⊠à Paris, Ă Tokyo, Ă New-York - To say youâre in this city, use âĂ â:
Je suis⊠à Paris, Ă Tokyo, Ă New-York - To say youâre coming from this city, use âdeâ:
Je viens⊠de Paris, de Tokyo, de New-York
But some cities include an article in their name â Le Havre, Le Caire, La Paz, Les Andelys⊠The article being part of the proper name, itâs written with an upper-case.
For these names, usually, the definite article contracts with the âĂ and deâ, becoming âau and duâ etcâŠ
Jâaime Le Havre.
Je parle du Havre.
Je vais au Havre.
French prepositions of place for islands
Islands are a messy business in FrenchâŠ
- Many donât have any article, and will be introduced by Ă or de:
Je vais Ă Cuba, Ă HaĂŻti, Ă Madagascar - But some islands are masculine:
Je vais au Japon - And some islands are feminine:
Je vais en Corse - And other islands are plural:
Je vais aux Maldives
So the preposition we use to talk about islands in French is more a case by case scenario.
French Prepositions of place used with regions and states
Regions and states usually follow the general gender rule: ending in âeâ = feminine, other letter = masculine.
La Provence, le Sussex, lâOrĂ©gonâŠ
For prepositions used with regions and states, itâs very difficult to say there is a rule per se. We tend not to use Ă , but rather en, au, aux or dans le, dans la, dans lesâŠ
Itâs really a matter of custom, the way people have been saying it for generations⊠not grammar.
Au Texas, dans le Maine, en Bourgogne, en Provence, dans la CreuseâŠ.
So in many cases, youâre just going to have to learn by heart the way to say being âinâ + a region or a state in French.
50 US States in French With Prepositions
Note that the US French state names are usually masculine.
Le Maryland, le TexasâŠ
9 Feminine US States in French
Here is the list of US states which are feminine in French (because they end with an âeâ):
La Floride, la Californie, la Caroline du Sud, la Caroline du Nord, la Louisiane, la Georgie, la Virginie-Occidentale (West Virginia), la Virginie (Virginia), la Pennsylvanie.
But watch out for the exception: le Maine.

Note that âlâArkansasâ and âle Texasâ are masculine singular, although they end with an âsâ (which is pronounced for both states).
50 US States Names in French
Here is a list of US states with the appropriate preposition to say you are âinâ or going âtoâ these states:
So Je vaisâŠ, je suisâŠ
- en Alabama
- en Alaska
- en Arizona
- en Arkansas
- en Californie
- en Caroline du Nord
- en Caroline du Sud
- dans le Colorado / au Colorado
- dans le Connecticut / au Connecticut
- dans le Dakota du Nord
- dans le Dakota du Sud
- dans le Delaware / au Delaware
- en Floride
- en Géorgie
- Ă HawaĂŻ
- en Idaho
- en Illinois
- en Indiana
- en Iowa
- dans le Kansas / au Kansas
- dans le Kentucky / au Kentucky
- en Louisiane
- dans le Maine
- dans le Maryland / au Maryland
- dans le Massachusetts / au Massachusetts
- dans le Michigan / au Michigan
- dans le Minnesota / au Minnesota
- dans le Mississippi / au Mississippi
- dans le Missouri / au Missouri
- dans le Montana / au Montana
- dans le Nebraska / au Nebraska
- dans le Nevada / au Nevada
- dans le New Hampshire / au New Hampshire
- dans le New Jersey / au New Jersey
- dans lâĂtat de New York
- au Nouveau-Mexique
- en Ohio
- en Oklahoma
- en Orégon
- en Pennsylvanie
- dans le Rhode Island
- dans le Tennessee / au Tennessee
- au Texas
- en Utah
- dans le Vermont / au Vermont
- en Virginie
- en Virginie-Occidentale
- dans lâĂtat de Washington
- dans le Wisconsin / au Wisconsin
- dans le Wyoming / au Wyoming
How to Memorize Your Prepositions of Place in French?
In my opinion, the best way to learn the French prepositions of place is to learn them in context. Pick the places that are relevant to you: for example, the country, region and town you are from and the places you often travel to, and start by training with these. Write down whole sentences which are relevant to you.
Je suis nĂ©e Ă Paris, en France. Maintenant, jâhabite en France, Ă Paimpol, en Bretagne, plus exactement dans les CĂŽtes-dâArmor. Mais jâai habitĂ© aux Ătats-Unis pendant seize ans, Ă Boston, dans le Massachusetts.Â
To learn all sorts of French prepositions in context, I suggest you take a look at my level-adapted French audio novels, featuring truly useful and realistic situations, fun story and characters, and entirely recorded using modern French pronunciation.
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