Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases in French tie ideas together by showing relationships like location, time, cause, and manner. This guide goes through common prepositions and useful expressions to help you sound natural.

Key Prepositions

Prepositions are small words that link a noun or pronoun to another part of the sentence, often indicating direction, place, time, or cause. Here are some of the most frequent ones.

French Word(s)	English Word(s)
à	to / at
de	of / from
en	in / on / by
pour	for
avec	with
sur	on
dans	in
chez	at the home / place of
depuis	since / for
vers	towards

French Example	English Translation
🌍 La réunion est sur la terrasse.	The meeting is on the terrace.
🌳 Ils se sont installés sous l'arbre.	They settled under the tree.
🚪 Le buffet est près de la porte.	The buffet is near the door.
🏃 Elle est partie vers le jardin.	She went towards the garden.
🧺 Le panier est au-dessus de la nappe.	The basket is above the tablecloth.
🐶 Le chien dort au pied de la chaise.	The dog sleeps at the foot of the chair.
🥖 Je marche le long de l'allée.	I walk along the path.
🌸 Les enfants jouent au milieu des fleurs.	The children play in the middle of the flowers.
🚶 Ils sont devant la fontaine.	They are in front of the fountain.
🗑️ La serviette est tombée derrière la poubelle.	The napkin fell behind the trash can.

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Expressions

Set phrases with prepositions often have idiomatic meanings, so it's helpful to learn them as chunks. They frequently appear in everyday speech and writing.

French Expression	English Expression
à cause de	because of
grâce à	thanks to
près de	near
loin de	far from
en face de	opposite / facing
au sujet de	about / regarding
autour de	around
à côté de	next to
de la part de	on behalf of

French Example	English Translation
☕ Je prends un café en terrasse.	I’m having a coffee on the terrace.
🕶️ Elle lit à l’ombre d’un grand parasol.	She reads in the shade of a large umbrella.
🍷 Nous dînons aux chandelles sur la pelouse.	We are dining by candlelight on the lawn.
🎶 La musique joue en fond du jardin.	The music plays in the background of the garden.
🐝 Fais attention près des fleurs.	Be careful near the flowers.
🧴 J’ai mis de la crème sur mes bras.	I put some lotion on my arms.
🗺️ Ils se sont retrouvés au coin de l’allée.	They met at the corner of the path.
🧻 Il y a des serviettes sous la table.	There are napkins under the table.
🔥 Le feu de bois crépite au centre du cercle.	The campfire crackles in the center of the circle.
🛋️ Je me suis installé chez mon ami sur le canapé.	I settled at my friend’s place on the couch.

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Usage

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and is followed by a noun, pronoun, or sometimes a clause. The phrase functions as an adjective, adverb, or sometimes a noun within the sentence. Prepositions must be followed by the appropriate type of complement.

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Summary

Prepositional phrases consistently show relationships like place, time, cause, and manner. Learn key prepositions and common expressions to make your speech more precise and natural. Practice identifying and using them in context.

Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025