The French prepositions à and de work not only as prepositions of place, but they are also used to indicate time, describe things, express possession, say the ways things are done, and much more. Verbs that follow these prepositions are in their infinitive form.
The French prepositions à and de can also be followed by nouns and, depending on which preposition is used, the meaning can be different. Let’s have a look at an example:
C’est une soupe d’huile de truffe.
These prepositions can often be confusing for English speakers, so it’s important to learn their differences in French. By the end of this article, you will know plenty of tricks to understand the uses of the prepositions à and de and avoid misunderstandings.
When to use prepositions ‘à’ and ‘de’ for time (and space) in French?
The French prepositions à and de are used with time and space to talk about when or where something is “at.” They are both very useful tools to schedule a meeting, holidays, an outing, etc.
à + time for exact times
When you know exactly when something is going to happen, use à+ the time in French.
On se retrouve à 20h15 ?Translation: Shall we meet at 8:15pm?à + time for exact times
When the preposition à is used with a day of the week or an indication of time like la semaine prochaine meaning next week, it is the equivalent of “see you” or “until” + time/day.
À vendredi !Translation: Until Friday! / See you on Friday!À la semaine prochaine !Translation: See you next week!de…à… meaning from... to/until for a time slot
De…à… expresses when something starts and ends.
Le magasin ouvre ses portes de 9h à 21h.Translation: The store is open from 9am to 9pm.à + distance/duration to show the distance from here or time from now
The preposition àcan be followed by a duration or distance. It is the equivalent of “away.”
Le centre-ville est à 1 km, à 20 minutes à pied.Translation: The city-center is 1 km away, 20 minutes away by foot.
When to use ‘à’ and ‘de’ to describe objects in French?
The prepositions à and de are used to describe the contents of an object (using de) or its purpose (using à). Without looking at the translation, can you tell the difference between the glasses?
- … un verre à eau ?Translation: a water glass (a glass for water)?
- … un verre d’eau ?Translation: a glass of water (a glass with water)?
Notice that à + noun (à eau) refers to the purpose of the object, while de + noun (d’eau) refers to its contents.
The preposition à can also be used before an infinitive verb. This can also tell you about something's purpose.
Sometimes de is used between two nouns to describe what something is made of, rather than its contents. So de + noun can refer to the material of an object as well. Nowadays, though, en + noun is more commonly used for this purpose.
How to use ‘à’ and ‘de’ used to express possession in French?
The French prepositions à and de can both be used to express possession. You will put the preposition before the owner of something.
- C’est à toi, ce sac ?Translation: Is this bag yours?
- Non, c’est le sac de Gwen.Translation: No, it’s Gwen’s.
But there are a couple of rules to follow, rather than choosing à or de at random. Here is what you need to remember about using à and de to express possession:
Use à+ owner after être meaning to be.
This means you’ll usually see this word order: être + à + stressed pronoun / name.
stressed pronoun / nameCe cahier est à moi et celui-ci est à Béa.Translation: This notebook is mine and this one is Bea’s.Use de + noun or de + name after a noun.
If the possessive preposition comes after a noun, and the owner is not represented by a pronoun, you will (almost) always use the preposition de.
J’ai pris la veste de Nicolas.Translation: I took Nicolas’s jacket.Use à + stressed pronoun after a noun.
If the possessive preposition comes after a noun and the owner is a pronoun, the correct preposition is à and not de. Phrases with à + stressed pronoun in French are roughly equivalent to phrases with “of” + possessive pronoun (“of his, hers, theirs…”) in English.
Prends un stylo à elle.Translation: Take a pen of hers.Nouns that are followed by à + stressed pronoun will usually have an indefinite article (un stylo).
De followed by a stressed pronoun does not express possession. However, it can indicate who made something or who/what a noun represents:
C’est un livre de lui ?Translation: Is it his book?
❌ a book he owns
✅ a book he wroteC’est une photo d’elle.Translation: It is her picture.
❌ a picture she owns
✅ a picture of her
When to use ‘à’ and ‘de’ with food in French?
The French prepositions à and de are used with food, which means they are used a lot in cooking and recipes. Beware! If misused or misunderstood, your cooking or baking can turn into a disaster! Here is what you need to remember:
à + one of several ingredients
de + main ingredient
Now that you know the formulas, can you tell which soup has un soupçon (a dash) of truffle oil and which one would make you sick?!
Answer: Definitely go for the soupe à l’huile de truffe, as this one is the is “a soup with truffle oil (as a flavoring).” Une soupe d’huile de truffe is “a soup mainly made of truffle oil” (yuck!)
When to use ‘à’ and ‘de’ after adjectives and nouns in French?
À and de are used with adjectives and nouns. When two clauses have the same subject, adjectives and nouns are usually followed by the prepositions à or de, followed by a verb or a noun. Take a look:
The preposition you should use depends on the noun or adjective that you are describing. Though there is often a "right" and a "wrong" choice of preposition, there are no strict rules to guide you about which to choose, so only practice will help. However, I would say that de is more common with nouns and adjectives, but keep in mind there are lots of exceptions! Please check this list of French nouns and adjectives followed by à and de, to learn useful examples!
When to use ‘à’ and ‘de’ after verbs in French?
À and de are also used after verbs to introduce the objects of these verbs, called verbes prépositionnels meaning prepositional verbs. Prepositional verbs are verbs that are always followed by a particular preposition. Though each prepositional verb takes its own particular preposition, the most common ones are à and de. These prepositions can then be followed by a noun or infinitive verbs.
Here are some verbs I think you should know. You’ll see that some of the verbs’ meanings have changed from a literal meaning to a more idiomatic meaning with the addition of the preposition!
| Verbs with à | |
|---|---|
arriver à Translation: to manage, to succeed | Je n’arrive pas à y croire ! Translation: I can’t believe it! |
chercher à Translation: to try | Ne cherche pas à comprendre, c'est n’importe quoi ! Translation: Don’t try to understand, it’s nonsense! |
penser à Translation: to think of, to remember | Pense à l’anniversaire de Mamie ! Translation: Remember Nanna’s birthday! |
passer du temps à Translation: to spend time | Ils ont passé des heures à tout préparer ! Translation: They spent hours getting everything ready! |
se mettre à Translation: to start | Il se met à pleuvoir…. Translation: It’s starting to rain… |
| Verbs with de | |
|---|---|
arrêter de Translation: to stop | Arrête de bouger ! Translation: Stop fidgeting! |
oublier de Translation: to forget | J’ai oublié de payer le parking ! Translation: I forgot to pay the parking fee! |
rêver de Translation: to dream | Je rêve de voyager en Grèce. Translation: I dream of traveling to Greece. |
dépêcher de Translation: to hurry | Dépêche-toi de finir ! Translation: Hurry and finish already! |
There are many more of these verbs which you will learn little by little. The more you practice, the quicker you will memorize them! Please check out this list of French verbs that take à and deto learn useful prepositional verbs!
Verbs using both àand de
Some verbs can be used with more than one preposition, but when the preposition changes, so does the meaning. So, some verbs can be used with both. It’s just like English verb pairs like “pick up” vs. “pick over.”
For example:
penser à quelqu’unTranslation: to think of someone
(someone comes to mind)penser de quelqu’unTranslation: to think something about someone
(your opinion)Reflexive verbs
Some verbs use a different preposition when they’re reflexive from the one they use when they’re not reflexive. For example:
Non-reflexive Reflexive Verb décider de + infinitiveTranslation: to decide to…se décider à + infinitiveTranslation: to make up one’s mind to…Example On a décidé de rentrer plus tôt.Translation: We decided to come back earlierIl s’est enfin décidé à vendre sa voiture.Translation: He finally agreed to sell his car.C’est facile à or de ?
This is the end of the article, so I’ll make it short and clear!
C’est
adjective
à
infinitive
Le riz sauvage, c’est long à cuire.Translation: Wild rice takes a long time to cook.C’est
adjective
de
infinitive
object
C’est long de cuire le riz sauvage.Translation: It takes a long time to cook wild rice.
Et voilà ! You are all set! I hope you found all your answers. Now it is time to practice in real life; why not start with our à and de French exercises!
In brief: Key facts about the French prepositions ‘à’ and ‘de’
When using the prepositions à and de in French, keep the following tips in mind:
À + time = “at” + time; à + day = “see you” + day; à + distance = distance + “away”
To express possession: noun + de + name OR être à + stressed pronoun or name.
À + one of many ingredients, de + main ingredient
Verbs of communication are mostly followed by à.
Espérer meaning to hope, penser meaning to think and verbs of taste don’t use de. English and French prepositions work very differently so don’t compare!
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