Do You Know the Difference Between 'À' and 'De?' (2024)

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Learn How to Use These Common French Prepositions

Do You Know the Difference Between 'À' and 'De?' (1)

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Table of Contents

À vs. De: French Prepositions
Additional Uses of À
Additional Uses of De
Using À and De With Verbs
See Also
Top 50 Prepositions used in English Vocabulary Words for Speaking 💯 French Reflexive Verbs | Free Lesson Is it commencer / continuer à, de or par? | Yolaine Bodin Learn How to Use Indirect Objects and Indirect Object Pronouns
Verbs With Different Meanings When À or De Is Used
Verbs That Use Both À and De in the Same Sentence
Expressions With À and De
Verbs With À or De

ByThoughtCo Team

Updated on February 28, 2020

Prepositions are words that connect two parts of a sentence. In French, they usually goin front of nouns or pronounsto show a relationship between thatnoun/pronoun and another word that precedes it.

As you learn French, you will find yourself using the prepositionsàanddeoften. Depending on their usage, they can mean entirely different things or the same thing. Knowing when to use which preposition is a common source of confusion for many French students, but this lesson will teach you the difference. By the end of it, you should be comfortable with how verbs interact withàandde.

Àvs. De: French Prepositions

The French prepositionsàanddecause constant problems for French students. Generally speaking,àmeans "to,""at," or "in," whiledemeans "of" or"from." Both prepositions have numerous uses and to understand each better, it is best to compare them.

Learn more about the prepositionde.
Learn more about the prepositionà.

À		De
Location or destination		Starting point or origin
Je vais à Rome	I'm going to Rome	partir de Nice	to leave from (out of) Nice
Je suis à la banque	I'm at the bank	Je suis de Bruxelles	I'm from Brussels
Distance in time or space Note that à is used in front of the distance, while de indicates the starting point/origin.
Il habite à 10 mètres...	He lives 10 meters...	...d'ici	...from here
C'est à 5 minutes...	It's 5 minutes away...	...de moi	...from me
Possession		Possession / belonging (Learn more)
un ami à moi	a friend of mine	le livre de Paul	Paul's book
Ce livre est à Jean	This is Jean's book	le café de l'université	the university café
Purpose or use		Contents / description
une tasse à thé	teacup (cup for tea)	une tasse de thé	cup of tea
une boîte à allumettes	matchbox (box for matches)	une boîte d'allumettes	box (full) of matches
un sac à dos	backpack (pack for the back)	un roman d'amour	love story (story about love)
Manner, style, or characteristic	Defining feature
fait à la main	made by hand	le marché de gros	wholesale market
Il habite à la française	He lives in the French style	une salle de classe	classroom
un enfant aux yeux bleus	blue-eyed child	un livre d'histoire	history book
Defining ingredient - Food		Indispensable ingredient - Food
Use à when the food is made with something that can be taken away without destroying it—as a general rule, you can translate it as "with." In the following examples, if you take out the ham or onion, you still have a sandwich or soup.		Use de when the food is made primarily of something—generally speaking, you can translate it to "of" or "from." In the following examples, if you take away the blackcurrants or tomatoes, you're left with not much at all.
un sandwich au jambon	ham sandwich	la crème de cassis	blackcurrant liqueur
la soupe à l'oignon	onion soup	la soupe de tomates	tomato soup
une tarte aux pommes	apple pie	le jus d'orange	orange juice
Impersonal expressions: Real subject		Impersonal expressions: Dummy subject
C'est bon à savoir.	That's good to know.	Il est bon d'étudier.	It's good to study. (Studying is good)
C'est facile à faire.	That's easy to do.	Il est facile de le trouver.	It's easy to find it. (Finding it is easy)

Additional Uses of À

The use ofàis not limited to the examples above. Here are two more instances in which you will want to use this preposition.

Measurement
acheter au kilo	to buy by the kilogram
payer à la semaine	to pay by the week
Point in time
Nous arrivons à 5h00	We arrive at 5:00
Il est mort à 92 ans	He died at the age of 92

Additional Uses of De

The prepositiondealso has more uses than listed above. You will use it often when speaking of cause and the manner of doing something.

Cause
mourir de faim	to die of/from hunger
fatigué du voyage	tired from the trip
Means/manner of doing something
écrire de la main gauche	to write with the left hand
répéter de mémoire	to recite from memory

Using ÀandDe With Verbs

It is essential to understand the difference between the French prepositionsàandde because themeaning of some verbs depends on whether you useàorde. For other verbs, both prepositions may be used in the same sentence.

Verbs With Different Meanings When Àor DeIs Used

In French, a single verb can havetwo meanings depending on the preposition. If you choose the wrong one, you might say "I neglected Jane" rather than "I miss Jane." Doing so can lead to misunderstandings and you should make sure to know the difference. The following table shows specifics verbs that change meanings through prepositions.

In the following examples, French abbreviations for "someone"and "something" are used. When using these verbs, simply replace the abbreviation with the nouns that you'respeaking of.

qqun/ s.o. -quelqu'un/ someone
qqch/ s.t. -quelque chose/ something

décider à	to persuade, convince
décider de	to decide to

demander à	to ask (for permission)
demander de	to ask (s.o. to do s.t.*)

jouer à	to play a game or sport
jouer de	to play an instrument

manquer à	to miss someone
manquer de	to neglect (to do s.t.)
(more about manquer)

parler à	to talk to
parler de	to talk about

penser à	to think about (imagine)
penser de	to think about (opinion)
(more about penser)

profiter à	to benefit
profiter de	to make the most of

venir à	to happen to
venir de	to have just (done s.t.)
(more about venir)

Verbs That Use BothÀand Dein the Same Sentence

The prepositionsàanddecan be used in a single sentence, often when you wantsomeoneto dosomething.

*conseiller* à qqun de faire qqch	advise s.o. to do s.t.
défendre à qqun de faire qqch	forbid s.o. to do s.t.
demander à qqun de faire qqch	ask s.o. to do s.t.
dire à qqun de faire qqch	tell s.o. to do s.t.
*interdire* à qqun de faire qqch	forbid s.o. to do s.t.
*ordonner* à qqun de faire qqch	order s.o. to do s.t.
*permettre* à qqun de faire qqch	allow s.o. to do s.t.
*promettre* à qqun de faire qqch	promise s.o. to do s.t.
téléphoner à qqun de faire qqch	call s.o. to do s.t.

Expressions WithÀand De

Yet another use foràanddeis in common expressions. Again, they often have similar meanings, yet they are notably different. Remember the primary difference between the prepositions:

àmeans "to," "at," or"in"
demeans"of"or"from"

à côté	nearby, next to	de côté	sideways
à côté de	next to, beside	du côté de	from (direction)
à la hauteur	at the level	de hauteur	[5 feet] tall
il est à Paris	he's in Paris	il est de Paris	he's from Paris
prêt à* + inf.	prepared to	prês de* + inf.	near, on the verge of
tasse à thé	teacup (cup for tea)	tasse de thé	cup of tea

*prêt and prêsare two different words, but because they are hom*ophones,it makes sense to include them here for comparison.

Verbs WithÀor De

There are a couple of French verbs that can take à or de with little or no difference in meaning:

commencer à / de	to start
continuer à / de	to continue

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Your Citation

Team, ThoughtCo. "When to Use 'À' vs. 'De' in French." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/a-vs-de-french-prepositions-4080520.Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). When to Use 'À' vs. 'De' in French. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/a-vs-de-french-prepositions-4080520Team, ThoughtCo. "When to Use 'À' vs. 'De' in French." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/a-vs-de-french-prepositions-4080520 (accessed April 1, 2024).

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FAQs

Do You Know the Difference Between 'À' and 'De?'? ›

The preposition à can mean at, in, or to and the preposition de can mean from, of, or out of. À can show point of departure and destination, cause and consequence, means and outcome. De can also indicate origin, point of departure, consequence, and belonging, as well as separation.

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How to know when to use à or de? ›

Note that à is used in front of the distance, while de indicates the starting point/origin.

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When to use de à and pour in French? ›

You'd say “j'ai envie de” with any verb, “j'apprends à” with any verb, “je vais” without preposition with any verb. Not depending on a preceding word, though: If you want to express purpose or goal, whenever you'd use “in order to” in English, use pour in French.

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What is the difference between A and à French? ›

But here is a helpful way of learning the difference between à and a. 'a' is a conjugated form of the verb 'avoir' e.g. il a un bateau (He has a boat)'à' is commonly used as a preposition. Its meaning varies depending on the sentence. It can mean at, in, or to.

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When to use a or de in Spanish? ›

Let's take a look at simple, grammatically correct sentence structure and when to use de in Spanish.

Simple Rules for De in Spanish.
De for Possession.
De for Causation.
De for Characteristics.
Use “A” for Motion.
Use “A” Before an Infinitive.

Jan 30, 2021

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Where to use de in French? ›

The French preposition de is required after certain verbs and phrases when they are followed by an infinitive. And de is required after many French verbs and phrases that need an indirect object, Keep in mind that de plus a noun can be replaced by the adverbial pronoun en. For example, J'en ai besoin. > I need it.

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What French verbs take de? ›

Verbs Taking De

écrire de (ay-kreer dö) / to write with.
arriver de (ah-ree-vay dö) / to arrive from.
changer de (shahn-zhay dö) / to change, e.g. trains or opinions.
jouer de (zhoo-ay dö) / to play an instrument.
venir de (vö-neer dö) / to come from.
manquer de (mahn-kay dö) / to lack.

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Is de in French masculine or feminine? ›

It looks like you know the rules: feminine singular=de la; masculine singular=du; any singular that begins with a vowel sound=de l'; plural=des; and of course, after a negative=de (or d'), as in pas de.

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Which French verbs take à? ›

Verbs + à + infinitive

aider à	to help to
contraindre (qqun) à	to force / compel (someone) to
décider (quelqu'un) à	to persuade (someone) to
se décider à	to make up one's mind to
encourager à	to encourage to

43 more rows

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Why do we use à in French? ›

The preposition à is generally summarized as "to, at, or in," but it has quite a few more meanings and uses than that. When à is followed by the definite article le or les, the two words must contract. However, à does not contract with the direct objects le and les.

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What does à mean in a word? ›

The preposition à can mean at, in, or to and the preposition de can mean from, of, or out of. À can show point of departure and destination, cause and consequence, means and outcome. De can also indicate origin, point of departure, consequence, and belonging, as well as separation.

Find Out More ›

When to use en and à? ›

In French, prepositions with countries and cities are going to change according to the rules below:

for cities/towns/villages, use à: ...
for feminine countries (countries ending with the letter -e), use en: ...
for masculine countries (ie not ending with -e or -s), use au:

More items...

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How do you know when to use de? ›

de can mean of. de shows who or what something belongs to. de can indicate what something is made of, what it contains or what it is used for. de is used in comparisons when a number is mentioned.

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What are the correct forms of de? ›

A versatile word: 'de'

of or of the + masculine noun = de or du.
of or of the + feminine noun = de la.
of or of the + any noun starting with a vowel = d' or de l'
of or of the + any plural noun = des.

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How do you know if a verb is followed by A or DE? ›

Simple answer is unfortunately you can't. Similar to the gender of nouns there is no way to be certain other than it 'sounds' right. Even more confusingly, some verbs can use either (or none) and it changes the meaning of the context. Notabley être can use both - Il est facile de faire qqch/c'est facile à faire.

How do you know which pronoun to use in French? ›

Subject pronouns in French are used to replace a noun as the subject of a sentence. These include familiar pronouns like “je” (I), “tu” (you), and “il/elle” (he/she) as well as plural forms such as “nous” (we), “vous” (you all), and “ils/elles” (they). For example: Je mange une pomme.

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When to use à or en in French? ›

en is used with the names of countries that are feminine in French. Use à with the names of towns and cities, and au or aux with masculine countries. en is used to talk about years and months, and to say how long something will take, when it is the equivalent of in/within.

How do you know when to use a direct vs indirect pronoun French? ›

How to Use French Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

Direct object pronouns are the receivers of the action in the sentence.
Indirect object pronouns show to whom or for whom the action is done.

May 1, 2024

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How do you know when to use Del or de? ›

You use del whenever de is followed by a singular masculine noun in a context that requires the article.

Learn More Now ›