Prepositions
Introduction
Prepositions are like glue linking nouns and other words together.
They are among the most common words you will come across. In our frequency
list, de is the most frequent word, and à
the sixth. There are 17 Prepositions in the 200 most frequent words:
de, à, en, dans, par, sur, avec, sans, entre, sous, vers,
jusque, avant, chez, contre, pendant, devant.
The two most common prepositions, à and de,
combine with the articles le and les to
form what are known as Contractions.
au = à + le
aux = à + les
du = de + le
des = de + les
aller au supermarché
to go to the supermarket
le prix du pain
the price of bread
le début des vacances
the beginning of the holidays
about Contractions.
When dealing with Prepositions, it is useful to think of them
as having potentially three sorts of meanings, depending on
the way they are used in the sentence:
-
a basic meaning, which will be the first thing
you try
-
a diminished meaning, when they are simply used as empty
links
-
an unpredictable, special meaning when used in Idioms
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Basic Meanings
Prepositions often introduce Nouns, or Noun
Phrases:
à la maison
at home
aller à la messe
to go to mass
venir de Québec
to come from Quebec
avant les autres
before the others
après le repas
after the meal
sous la table
under the table
sur le bureau
on the desk
dans ma poche
in my pocket
en cas de besoin
in case of need
In the last example, en cas de is a Preposition in more
than one word, usually called a Prepositional Phrase. In your
dictionary, you would find it under cas, and it would
be labelled as a loc. prép. (locution prépositive
= Prepositional Phrase). For all practical purposes, there is no difference
between a prep. and a loc. prep., except the number of
words that make it up.
Prepositions are also frequently used with Pronouns:
avec lui, sans elle
with him, without her
pour moi, contre tout
for me, against everything
devant eux, selon toi
in front of them, according to you
about Pronouns.
Diminished Meanings
The most common prepositions (and especially à
and de) are used in all sorts of expressions and a great
variety of ways to link other words together. In many of these cases,
they have a diminished meaning: they are links first and words with
meanings second.
1. Probably the commonest case of diminished meaning is when de
or à are used to join two Nouns together.
French nearly always uses Prepositions to join Nouns, while English
has two other ways, as the first two groups of examples show.
La portière de la voiture
The car door
Le jus de pomme
Apple juice
Les voitures de demain
Tomorrow’s cars
La plume de ma tante
My aunt’s pen
L’idée de Bonin
Bonin’s idea
Le début de l’hiver
The beginning of winter
L’ouverture de la route
The opening of the highway
La province natale du pionnier de
la vaccination, Armand Frappier.
Vaccination pioneer Armand Frappier’s native province.
about Noun Phrases joined in this way.
2. Another very common case of diminished meaning is when à
or de is used after a verb, followed either by an Infinitive
or by a Noun or Pronoun:
On essaie de le suivre
We try to follow it
Je n’ai jamais douté de lui
I never doubted him
Il commence à envisager...
He’s beginning to consider...
Nous cherchons à plaire.
We try to please
Other Meanings
Many little prepositions, especially à and de,
can be used not only with their basic meaning and sometimes a diminished
meaning, but in expressions they can take on a whole range of other
meanings, or rather correspond to many different things in English,
which you’ll have to use your dictionary to discover.
Consider just a few examples with the preposition à:
travailler à deux
to work in pairs
aller à la pêche
to go fishing
habiter à quatre km.
to live four km. away
à la vôtre!
cheers!
à lundi!
see you on Monday
une amie à moi
one of my friends
If you suspect that a Preposition is being used as part of an expression,
you can check your dictionary in two different places. First look under
the Preposition itself, scanning through the examples in search of the
expression. If that fails, look under one of the words in the expression,
such as deux, pêche, kilomètre,
in the examples given above. This may take some time, but it is worth
it. If the dictionary is your own, highlight the expression you find.
You will probably come across it again before too long and it will be
easier to find.
Most Frequent
Here are the more common prepositions you should be familiar with.
If you are not sure of the meanings, do the exercises and if necessary
check your dictionary.
Indicating position
devant, derrière, sous, au-dessus de, au-dessous de, sur,
vers, dans, à l'intérieur de, en dehors de, à
côté de, en face de, entre, autour de, le long de.
Indicating time
dans, en, pendant, jusqu'à, avant (avant de + INF), après,
depuis
Others
de, à, avec, sans, pour, contre, par, selon, à cause
de, au cours de, chez
Exercises
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