How French works
Prepositions have two basic functions. First (usually involving de or à) to provide a transparent link between two words:
Il a réussi à se faire de nouveaux amis très vite
He's managed to make new friends very quickly
Le taux de chômage reste supérieur à la moyenne
The rate of unemployment remains higher than average
And second to express a distinct relationship between a word and the rest of its sentence:
Le livre que tu cherches est sur la table
The book you're looking for is on the table
Where a preposition applies to two or more nouns linked by et or mais, the preposition generally occurs before each noun:
J'ai besoin d'un ouvre-boîte et d'un tire-bouchon
I need a tin opener and a corkscrew
The prepositions de or à are often used to provide a link between a verb or adjective and an infinitive :
Je n'ai pas réussi à convaincre notre patron
I didn't succeed in convincing our boss
Il ne sera pas facile de convaincre notre patron
It won't be easy to convince our boss
There is no rule as to which type of expressions take de and which take à, so it's best to learn which preposition an expression takes as you would the gender of nouns .
| French | English |
|---|---|
| à | to, at |
| après | after |
| avant | before |
| avec | with |
| chez | at the house of, with |
| contre | against |
| dans | in, into |
| de | of, from |
| depuis | since |
| derrière | behind |
| dès | from (time, place) |
| devant | in front of |
| en | in, into |
| entre | between |
| envers | towards (attitude) |
| hors, excepté | except |
| malgré | despite |
| outre | other than, beside |
| par | by, through |
| parmi | among |
| pendant | during |
| pour | for |
| sans | without |
| sauf | except |
| selon | according to |
| sous | under |
| sur | on, onto |
| vers | towards |
| French | English |
|---|---|
| à cause de | because of |
| à côté de | next to |
| à l’aide de | with (the help of) |
| à l’égard de | regarding |
| à l’exception de | except for |
| à moins de | unless |
| à propos de | about |
| à travers | through |
| au-dehors de | outside |
| au-delà de | beyond |
| au-dessous de | under, below |
| au-dessus de | above |
| au lieu de | instead of |
| au sujet de | about |
| autour de | around |
| d’après | according to |
| de la part de | on behalf of |
| en dépit de | despite |
| en-dessous de | under, below |
| faute de | for lack of |
| grâce à | thanks to |
| le long de | along |
| lors de | at the time of |
| près de | near |
| quant à | as for |
| vis-à-vis de | opposite |