French prepositions of place

Below, some explanations with examples of these 10 French prepositions of place. To fully understand these 10 French prepositions of place, combine the explanations and examples with the drawings of each French preposition of place shown in the video.

1) The French preposition of place “dans” means “in”. Examples: “Je suis dans la cuisine.” = “I am in the kitchen.”, “Le chien est dans la maison.” = “The dog is in the house.”, “Le stylo est dans la trousse.” = “The pen is in the case.”

2) At the beginner level, the French preposition of place “chez” is mainly used to mean:

- “dans la maison de” = “in the house of”. Examples: “Je suis chez Tom.” = “I am at Tom's.”, “Il est chez Marc.” = “He's at Marc's.”, etc.;
- “dans la famille de” = “in the family of”. Examples: “Je suis chez mon frère.” = “I am at my brother's house.”, “Il est chez sa soeur.” = “He is at his sister's house., etc.;
- “dans le magasin de” = “in the store of”. Examples: “Je suis chez le médecin.” = “I am at the doctor.”, “Il est chez le coiffeur.” = “He is at the hairdresser.”, etc.

3) The French preposition of place “sous” means “under”. Example: “Le chat est sous la table.” = “The cat is under the table.”

4) The French preposition of place “sur” means “on”. Example: “Le chat est sur la table.” = “The cat is on the table.”

5) The French preposition of place "près (de)" is used to denote something close. Example: “Je suis près de l’arbre.” = “I am near the tree.” Instead of “près (de)”, we can use “à côté (de)”: “Je suis à côté de l’arbre.” = “I am next to the tree.”

6) The French preposition of place “loin (de)” is used to denote something that is not nearby, something far away. Example: “Je suis loin de l’arbre.” = “I am far from the tree.”

7) The French preposition of place “en face (de)” means “in front (of)”. Example: “Je suis en face de l’arbre.” = “I am in front of the tree.”

8) The French preposition of place “devant” has almost the same meaning as “en face”. Example: “Je suis devant l’arbre.” = “I am in front of the tree.”

9) The French preposition of place “derrière” is the opposite of “devant”. Example: “Je suis derrière l’arbre.” = “I am behind the tree.”

10) The French preposition of place “entre” means “between”. Example: “Je suis entre les arbres.” = “I am between the trees.”

To deepen this grammar lesson on the French prepositions of place, you can study the French course: learn to indicate and understand an itinerary.

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