Prepositions of Place

• This is the compact reference — every rule from the Learn tab, boiled down to tables and rule boxes you can revise from the night before the exam.
• A preposition of place is the little word (à, en, au, aux, chez, dans, sur…) you put before the place-word to say where.
• Start with the big one: which word to use for cities, countries and continents.

1 · Cities, countries, continents → which little word

• A few countries end in -e but are actually masculine, so they take au, not en: au Mexique, au Cambodge, au Zimbabwe, au Mozambique.
• Memorise that short list. And one province you'll say often: le Québec is masculine → au Québec; feminine regions take en → en Californie.

2 · Quick logic — choosing a country word in 4 steps

3 · The four mandatory contractions

• Whenever à or de bumps into the "the"-word le or les, they are forced to merge.
• This is never optional — you may not write them out in full.
• This is the exact same rule that makes "au Canada" and "du Canada" look the way they do.

No contraction with la or l' — keep them exactly as they are:

4 · "in / to" vs "from" — the same mirror

To say you come from a place, swap to the "from" word. It mirrors the en / au / aux system exactly — the same "the"-word merging you just saw. Read this table across, and the pairs line up:

5 · chez (people) vs à (institutions)

6 · Position words — where one thing sits by another

For giving directions and describing a room or a document. Watch the ones marked ends in "de" — that "de" is the same one from section 3, so it contracts with le/les (à côté du, en face des, près du).

7 · dans vs en vs à — the fixed-expression traps

• This is the single most useful picture in the chapter.
• You have a country and you don't know the little word.
• Walk down these cards in order and stop at the first "yes" — the answer is on that card.
• Cities skip the whole thing: a city is always à.

Whenever à or de bumps into the "the"-word le or les, they are forced to merge into one word. Watch two pills collapse into one. This is never optional — you may not write them out in full.

These DON'T contract. When the "the"-word is la or l', nothing merges — you keep the two words exactly as they are:

à la banque · à l'école · de la gare · de l'aéroport to the bank · to school · from the station · from the airport

The "from" word mirrors the "in / to" word exactly — same le/les merging. Each column shows one place with its pair: top = in / to, bottom = from.

• Picture one small apartment: a cat, a table, two windows, a door, a bed.
• Each card locates something with a different position word — exactly the kind of describing you do in the speaking and reading sections.
• Watch the ones ending in de quietly contract: à côté du lit, entre les fenêtres.

• The trickiest little word: chez goes only in front of a person (a name, a person-word, or a profession).
• If the destination is a building or institution, you switch to à.
• Same errand, two different words depending on whether you name the person or the place.

For how you travel, most transport takes en — but the two you sit astride take à. And remember: for a country you say en and for a city à, never dans. Here is the transport strip, learned as ready-made chunks.

Je vais au travail en métro, mais parfois à pied. I go to work by metro, but sometimes on foot.

When you'll meet it: the moment someone from Mexico, Cambodia or Mozambique tells you where they're from — and the moment you try to apply the "-e means feminine" shortcut and it quietly fails you.

• How it works: the shortcut "a country ending in -e is feminine, so it takes en" is only usually true.
• A short list of countries end in -e but are actually masculine, so they take au, not en.
• There's no clever trick — you memorise this tiny list, and everything else keeps following the normal rule.

• Mon collègue vient du Mexique. My colleague comes from Mexico. — masculine, so "from" is du (de + le), not de.
• Elle a grandi au Cambodge. She grew up in Cambodia. — au, never "en Cambodge".
• Il travaille au Mozambique depuis deux ans. He's been working in Mozambique for two years.

When you'll meet it: talking about Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Uruguay or Israel — countries that are masculine, so Step 4 wants to hand you au, but your mouth would trip over it.

• How it works: if a country starts with a vowel sound, French uses en no matter what the gender is.
• That's because "au" ending in a vowel bumping straight into another vowel — "au Iran" — sounds clumsy, so French smooths it to "en Iran".
• This is why the very first step of the country logic is "starts with a vowel?" — it has to win before the masculine rule ever gets a turn.

• Ma voisine est née en Iran. My neighbour was born in Iran.
• Il a de la famille en Afghanistan. He has family in Afghanistan.
• Nous avons vécu en Uruguay pendant trois ans. We lived in Uruguay for three years.

When you'll meet it: saying which part of Canada or which region you live in or come from — extremely common in an immigration interview and in everyday small talk here.

• How it works: provinces, states and regions follow the same gender logic as countries.
• A masculine one takes au; a feminine one (again, usually ends in -e) takes en.
• The one you'll say most as a newcomer is le Québec, which is masculine → au Québec.
• Feminine regions like la Californie, la Normandie take en.
• Stick to the safe, common ones below — a few provinces are genuinely debated even among French speakers, so there's no need to gamble on the rare ones.

• J'ai immigré au Québec en 2022. I immigrated to Quebec in 2022. — masculine province → au.
• Ma sœur travaille en Californie. My sister works in California. — feminine → en.

When you'll meet it: every time you write "au Canada" or "du Japon" — which is constantly. This isn't a rare trap; it's the hidden machinery behind the words you use most.

• How it works: au and du are not special country words at all.
• They are two words squashed together: au = à + le and du = de + le.
• A masculine country like "le Canada" carries its "the"-word le.
• So when you add à to say "to/in Canada", à + le Canada is forced to merge into au Canada — the "à le" is hiding inside "au".
• The "from" version works the same way: de + le Canada becomes du Canada.

• Why this matters as an "exception": it explains why you can never write "à le Canada" or "de le Japon", even though those look like they'd be logical.
• The merge is mandatory. Seeing it as a contraction — not a mystery country word — makes both the country rule and the everyday "au parc / du parc" rule click into one thing.

When you'll meet it: the second you try to say "at the bank" or "at the hospital" and reach for chez because it feels like an all-purpose "at". It isn't.

• How it works: chez means "at / to someone's home or workplace", and it goes only in front of a person — a name, a person-word like moi / mes parents, or a profession like le médecin.
• It never goes in front of a plain place-word.
• A bank, a school, a hospital, a university are all places, not people — so they use à (à la banque, à l'hôpital), never chez.

• Je vais chez le coiffeur, puis à la banque. I'm going to the hairdresser's, then to the bank. — person → chez, place → à, in one sentence.
• J'ai un rendez-vous chez le médecin à l'hôpital. I have an appointment with the doctor at the hospital. — chez the person, à the building.

When you'll meet it: giving directions to your apartment or describing where something sits — "next to the park", "across from the shops", "near the metro". This is one of the most common slips in the whole chapter.

• How it works: several position words end in the little word "de" — à côté de, en face de, près de, au-dessus de, loin de, à gauche de, à droite de.
• That "de" is the exact same one from the contraction rule, so it must merge with le and les: de + le → du, de + les → des.
• People forget the "de" is even there and say "à côté le parc" — but it's à côté du parc.

And the reminder from before: with la or l', nothing merges — à côté de la banque next to the bank, en face de l'école across from the school. Only le and les contract.

• Il y a une pharmacie à côté du supermarché. There's a pharmacy next to the supermarket.
• Ma banque est en face des magasins. My bank is across from the shops.
• J'habite près du métro, loin du centre-ville. I live near the metro, far from the downtown.

When you'll meet it: answering "how do you get to work?" — a question that comes up constantly in speaking practice and in daily life in Canada.

• How it works: for most ways of getting around, French uses en — because you sit inside the vehicle: en voiture, en bus, en train, en avion, en métro.
• But two ways of getting around take à instead: à pied (on foot) and à vélo / à moto (by bike / motorbike).
• The easy way to remember it: you sit on a bike, not inside it — and on foot there's no vehicle at all — so those switch to à.

• Je vais au travail en métro. I go to work by metro. — inside it → en.
• Le matin, je vais à l'école à pied. In the morning, I walk to school. — on foot → à.
• Il fait ses courses à vélo. He does his shopping by bike. — on it → à.

A city or town is always à — no article, big city or small.

• J'habite à Brampton. I live in Brampton.
• Je travaille à Toronto depuis un an. I've been working in Toronto for a year.
• Ma sœur est née à Amritsar. My sister was born in Amritsar.
• Mon rendez-vous est à Mississauga, à neuf heures. My appointment is in Mississauga, at nine o'clock.
• Nous avons atterri à Montréal hier soir. We landed in Montreal last night.
• Il étudie à Ottawa, à l'université. He studies in Ottawa, at the university.
• Ma cousine cherche un appartement à Vancouver. My cousin is looking for an apartment in Vancouver.
• J'ai grandi à Delhi, puis j'ai déménagé à Chandigarh. I grew up in Delhi, then I moved to Chandigarh.
• Mes parents habitent toujours à Ludhiana. My parents still live in Ludhiana.
• Je passe l'examen du TEF à Calgary le mois prochain. I'm taking the TEF exam in Calgary next month.
• On se retrouve à Edmonton pour le mariage. We're meeting up in Edmonton for the wedding.
• Mon oncle travaille à Dubaï, mais il rentre bientôt. My uncle works in Dubai, but he's coming home soon.

Countries that end in -e are almost always feminine → en, no article.

• Ma famille habite en Inde. My family lives in India.
• Je suis née en Inde, à Amritsar. I was born in India, in Amritsar.
• Mon mari a étudié en France. My husband studied in France.
• Nous voulons voyager en Italie l'été prochain. We want to travel to Italy next summer.
• Elle enseigne le français en Belgique. She teaches French in Belgium.
• Mes grands-parents vivent encore en Chine. My grandparents still live in China.
• Il a de la famille en Espagne et en Allemagne. He has family in Spain and in Germany.
• J'ai travaillé deux ans en Colombie avant de venir ici. I worked for two years in Colombia before coming here.
• Ma belle-sœur habite en Suisse, près de Genève. My sister-in-law lives in Switzerland, near Geneva.
• On fête le mariage en Turquie cette année. We're celebrating the wedding in Turkey this year.
• Elle a fait ses études de médecine en Russie. She did her medical studies in Russia.
• Mon frère cherche du travail en Australie. My brother is looking for work in Australia.
• J'ai vécu quelques mois en Tunisie quand j'étais jeune. I lived a few months in Tunisia when I was young.
• Ils passent leurs vacances en Grèce chaque été. They spend their holidays in Greece every summer.
• Ma tante s'est installée en Angleterre après son mariage. My aunt settled in England after her marriage.

Most countries that do not end in -e are masculine → au (that's à + le squashed together).

• J'habite au Canada depuis trois ans. I've been living in Canada for three years.
• Je suis né au Maroc, à Casablanca. I was born in Morocco, in Casablanca.
• Mon père travaille au Japon. My father works in Japan.
• Ma famille est restée au Pakistan. My family stayed in Pakistan.
• Il a étudié l'ingénierie au Brésil. He studied engineering in Brazil.
• Nous avons de la famille au Portugal. We have family in Portugal.
• Elle a enseigné deux ans au Sénégal. She taught for two years in Senegal.
• Mon cousin fait un stage au Mexique. My cousin is doing an internship in Mexico.
• J'ai passé mon enfance au Liban. I spent my childhood in Lebanon.
• Ils veulent s'installer au Québec l'année prochaine. They want to settle in Quebec next year.
• Ma mère est retournée au Vietnam pour voir ses parents. My mother went back to Vietnam to see her parents.
• Il y a une grande communauté indienne au Kenya. There's a large Indian community in Kenya.
• Nous avons vécu au Nigeria avant de venir ici. We lived in Nigeria before coming here.
• Mon beau-frère a ouvert un restaurant au Cambodge. My brother-in-law opened a restaurant in Cambodia. (le Cambodge ends in -e but is masculine → au)
• Elle est partie travailler au Chili pour six mois. She went to work in Chile for six months.

A few countries are plural (they carry les) → aux (that's à + les squashed together).

• Mon frère travaille aux États-Unis. My brother works in the United States.
• Elle a de la famille aux Philippines. She has family in the Philippines.
• Nous avons vécu deux ans aux Pays-Bas. We lived for two years in the Netherlands.
• Il fait ses études aux États-Unis, à Boston. He's doing his studies in the United States, in Boston.
• Ma tante s'est mariée aux Émirats arabes unis. My aunt got married in the United Arab Emirates.
• On voyage aux Pays-Bas pour voir les tulipes. We're travelling to the Netherlands to see the tulips.
• Beaucoup de mes amis se sont installés aux États-Unis. Many of my friends settled in the United States.
• Elle a trouvé un bon emploi aux Philippines. She found a good job in the Philippines.
• Mon oncle importe des fleurs depuis longtemps aux Pays-Bas. My uncle has imported flowers from the Netherlands for a long time.
• Ils passent l'hiver aux États-Unis, en Floride. They spend the winter in the United States, in Florida.

All continents are feminine → en, just like a feminine country.

• Ma famille vit en Asie. My family lives in Asia.
• Je voyage en Europe cet été. I'm travelling to Europe this summer.
• Il a travaillé plusieurs années en Afrique. He worked for several years in Africa.
• Beaucoup de nouveaux arrivants viennent vivre en Amérique du Nord. Many newcomers come to live in North America.
• Mes cousins étudient en Amérique, à New York. My cousins study in America, in New York.
• Elle rêve de partir en Océanie un jour. She dreams of going to Oceania one day.
• Nous avons des clients en Asie et en Europe. We have clients in Asia and in Europe.
• Le climat est très différent en Afrique et au Canada. The climate is very different in Africa and in Canada.
• Mon entreprise m'envoie souvent en Europe pour le travail. My company often sends me to Europe for work.
• Il a immigré en Amérique du Sud avant de venir ici. He immigrated to South America before coming here.

"From" mirrors the en/au/aux system: city or feminine country → de / d'; masculine country → du; plural country → des.

• Je viens du Pakistan. I come from Pakistan. (masculine → du)
• Elle vient d'Italie. She comes from Italy. (feminine, starts with a vowel → d')
• Ils viennent des Philippines. They come from the Philippines. (plural → des)
• Je viens de Toronto, mais ma famille est de Delhi. I'm from Toronto, but my family is from Delhi. (cities → de)
• Mon voisin vient du Maroc. My neighbour comes from Morocco.
• Ma collègue vient de France. My colleague comes from France.
• Nous venons du Pendjab, en Inde. We come from Punjab, in India.
• Il revient du travail à six heures. He gets back from work at six.
• Je rentre de l'aéroport, mon vol a atterri en retard. I'm coming back from the airport, my flight landed late.
• Elle sort de la banque avec ses documents. She's coming out of the bank with her documents.
• Les enfants reviennent de l'école à trois heures et demie. The children come back from school at half past three.
• Mon mari vient d'Afghanistan. My husband comes from Afghanistan. (vowel → d')
• Cette lettre vient du Sénégal. This letter comes from Senegal.
• Ma grand-mère venait d'Europe, d'un petit village. My grandmother came from Europe, from a small village.
• Ce produit vient des États-Unis. This product comes from the United States.
• Je sors du métro et je marche cinq minutes. I come out of the metro and walk for five minutes.
• D'où venez-vous ? — Je viens du Liban. Where are you from? — I come from Lebanon.
• Elle est originaire de Chine, de la région de Shanghai. She's originally from China, from the Shanghai region.

chez goes only in front of a person — a name, a person-word, or a profession. For a plain place, use à.

• Ce soir, je reste chez moi. Tonight, I'm staying at home / at my place.
• On dîne chez mes parents dimanche. We're having dinner at my parents' place on Sunday.
• J'ai rendez-vous chez le médecin à dix heures. I have an appointment at the doctor's at ten.
• Je vais chez le coiffeur avant l'entretien d'embauche. I'm going to the hairdresser's before the job interview.
• Elle habite chez sa sœur en attendant de trouver un appartement. She's living at her sister's while she looks for an apartment.
• On se réunit chez Marie pour préparer l'examen. We're meeting at Marie's to prepare for the exam.
• Je dois passer chez le dentiste cet après-midi. I have to stop by the dentist's this afternoon.
• Les enfants sont chez leurs grands-parents ce week-end. The children are at their grandparents' this weekend.
• Viens chez nous après le travail, on prépare le thé. Come to our place after work, we'll make tea.
• Il travaille chez un comptable pour remplir ses impôts. He's working with an accountant to file his taxes.
• J'ai laissé mon manteau chez toi hier. I left my coat at your place yesterday.
• Nous sommes invités chez des amis à Brampton. We're invited to some friends' place in Brampton.
• Elle achète ses légumes chez l'épicier du coin. She buys her vegetables at the corner grocer's.
• Reste chez toi si tu es malade. Stay at home if you're sick.

à + le = au, à + les = aux, de + le = du, de + les = des. Mandatory, never written out in full. (But à la, à l', de la, de l' stay unchanged.)

• Je vais au supermarché après le travail. I'm going to the supermarket after work. (à + le)
• Il joue au parc avec ses enfants. He plays at the park with his children. (à + le)
• Les toilettes sont aux deux bouts du couloir. The toilets are at both ends of the corridor. (à + les)
• Je reviens du bureau vers dix-huit heures. I come back from the office around six p.m. (de + le)
• C'est la sortie des magasins, tout droit. It's the exit from the shops, straight ahead. (de + les)
• Nous allons au restaurant indien près de la gare. We're going to the Indian restaurant near the station.
• Elle téléphone au propriétaire pour l'appartement. She's calling the landlord about the apartment.
• Je parle au conseiller de la banque demain. I'm speaking to the bank's advisor tomorrow.
• L'arrêt de bus est en face du centre commercial. The bus stop is across from the shopping centre.
• Il s'occupe des documents de l'immigration. He's handling the immigration documents.
• Le nom de la rue est écrit au coin du bâtiment. The street name is written on the corner of the building.
• Je vais à la maison, puis au travail. I'm going home, then to work. (à la stays; au = à + le)
• La clé de l'appartement est chez le concierge. The apartment key is with the caretaker. (de l' stays)
• Elle revient des courses avec deux sacs lourds. She's coming back from the groceries with two heavy bags. (de + les)
• On donne le formulaire au guichet numéro trois. You hand the form in at counter number three. (à + le)

Where one thing sits next to another — for describing a room, a document, or a street.

• Les clés sont sur la table, à côté du téléphone. The keys are on the table, next to the phone.
• Ton passeport est dans le tiroir du bureau. Your passport is in the desk drawer.
• Le chat dort sous la chaise. The cat is sleeping under the chair.
• Signez sur la ligne, en bas de la page. Sign on the line, at the bottom of the page.
• Mes documents sont dans mon sac à dos. My documents are in my backpack.
• Il attend devant la porte de la banque. He's waiting in front of the bank door.
• Le parking est derrière l'immeuble. The parking lot is behind the building.
• La pharmacie est entre la banque et le café. The pharmacy is between the bank and the café.
• Écrivez votre date de naissance sur le formulaire. Write your date of birth on the form.
• Le reçu est resté sous la facture. The receipt is stuck under the invoice.
• Mets tes chaussures devant l'entrée, s'il te plaît. Put your shoes in front of the entrance, please.
• L'arrêt de bus est juste devant chez moi. The bus stop is right in front of my place.
• Il y a un jardin derrière la maison. There's a garden behind the house.
• Le distributeur de billets est entre les deux portes. The cash machine is between the two doors.
• Ta carte de résident est dans l'enveloppe brune. Your resident card is in the brown envelope.
• La télécommande est tombée sous le canapé. The remote fell under the sofa.
• Ton nom apparaît sur la première ligne du contrat. Your name appears on the first line of the contract.
• Le lit est entre la fenêtre et l'armoire. The bed is between the window and the wardrobe.
• Les enfants jouent derrière l'école. The children are playing behind the school.
• Rangez les factures dans ce dossier. Put the invoices in this folder.

These end in de, so the "de" contracts with le/les: à côté du, en face des, près du.

• Il y a une pharmacie à côté du supermarché. There's a pharmacy next to the supermarket.
• Ma banque est en face de la station de métro. My bank is across from the metro station.
• J'habite tout près du centre commercial. I live very near the shopping centre.
• L'école est assez loin de chez nous. The school is quite far from our place.
• Mon appartement est au-dessus de la boulangerie. My apartment is above the bakery.
• La cave est au-dessous du magasin. The cellar is below the shop.
• Le bureau de poste est à côté de l'église. The post office is next to the church.
• Nous cherchons un logement près des transports en commun. We're looking for housing near public transport.
• L'arrêt de bus est juste en face des magasins. The bus stop is right across from the shops.
• Le nouveau bureau est trop loin du métro à mon goût. The new office is too far from the metro for my liking.
• Mets ta signature à droite de la date. Put your signature to the right of the date.
• Votre nom est à gauche du formulaire. Your name is on the left of the form.
• Il y a un parc juste à côté de mon immeuble. There's a park right next to my building.
• La photo doit être collée au-dessus de votre nom. The photo must be stuck above your name.
• L'hôpital est loin du centre-ville, prenez le bus. The hospital is far from downtown, take the bus.

dans = inside a bounded object; en = fixed expressions + most transport; à = fixed spots + à pied / à vélo.

• Je vais au travail en métro. I go to work by metro.
• Mes papiers sont dans mon sac. My documents are in my bag.
• Le matin, je vais à l'école à pied. In the morning, I walk to school.
• Les enfants sont déjà dans la voiture. The children are already in the car.
• On rentre en bus, c'est moins cher. We're going home by bus, it's cheaper.
• Je préfère faire mes courses à vélo. I prefer to do my shopping by bike.
• Elle vit en ville, tout près de son bureau. She lives in town, very close to her office.
• Restez à la maison si vous êtes malade. Stay at home if you're sick.
• Il voyage en avion pour son travail. He travels by plane for his work.
• Mets ton portefeuille dans ta poche. Put your wallet in your pocket.
• Nous allons à l'hôpital en taxi, c'est urgent. We're going to the hospital by taxi, it's urgent.
• Je suis en classe jusqu'à midi. I'm in class until noon.
• Les billets sont dans l'enveloppe, sur le comptoir. The tickets are in the envelope, on the counter.
• Elle va au marché à pied tous les samedis. She walks to the market every Saturday.
• On prend le train, mais on finit le trajet à vélo. We take the train, but we finish the trip by bike.

The high-value TEF/TCF sentences — introducing yourself, your origin, and your family. Mix de/du/des, à/au/en naturally.

• Je viens du Pendjab, en Inde, et j'habite maintenant à Brampton. I come from Punjab, in India, and I now live in Brampton.
• Je suis née en Inde, à Amritsar, mais j'ai grandi au Canada. I was born in India, in Amritsar, but I grew up in Canada.
• Ma famille habite encore au Pakistan. My family still lives in Pakistan.
• Je suis arrivé au Canada il y a deux ans. I arrived in Canada two years ago.
• Mes parents sont venus du Maroc en 2010. My parents came from Morocco in 2010.
• Je viens de Delhi, mais mes grands-parents venaient d'un village au Pendjab. I come from Delhi, but my grandparents came from a village in Punjab.
• Mon mari vient du Liban et moi, je viens de France. My husband comes from Lebanon and I come from France.
• Nous avons immigré aux États-Unis, puis nous nous sommes installés au Canada. We immigrated to the United States, then we settled in Canada.
• Ma sœur habite en France depuis son mariage. My sister has lived in France since her marriage.
• Je suis citoyen canadien, mais je suis d'origine indienne. I'm a Canadian citizen, but I'm of Indian origin.
• Toute ma famille vit au Canada maintenant, à Toronto et à Vancouver. My whole family lives in Canada now, in Toronto and Vancouver.
• Il a étudié en Chine avant de venir travailler ici. He studied in China before coming to work here.
• D'où venez-vous ? — Je viens des Philippines, de Manille. Where are you from? — I come from the Philippines, from Manila.
• Ma mère est restée en Inde pour s'occuper de mes grands-parents. My mother stayed in India to look after my grandparents.
• Je parle le pendjabi à la maison et le français au travail. I speak Punjabi at home and French at work.
• Nous cherchons un logement à Mississauga, près de mon nouveau bureau. We're looking for housing in Mississauga, near my new office.
• Mon frère est né aux États-Unis, mais il vit au Canada depuis dix ans. My brother was born in the United States, but he's lived in Canada for ten years.
• Avant, je travaillais au Sénégal ; maintenant, je travaille à Ottawa. Before, I used to work in Senegal; now, I work in Ottawa.
• Ma femme vient d'Italie et nous nous sommes rencontrés à Montréal. My wife comes from Italy and we met in Montreal.
• Je suis venue au Canada seule, puis ma famille est arrivée du Pakistan. I came to Canada alone, then my family arrived from Pakistan.

Directions pull in almost every preposition at once — à, au, devant, après, en face de, à côté de. Here's how you'd guide someone to your place or an office.

• Continuez tout droit, puis tournez à droite au feu. Keep going straight, then turn right at the light.
• La banque est en face de la station de métro. The bank is across from the metro station.
• Mon immeuble est à côté du supermarché. My building is next to the supermarket.
• Prenez le bus numéro sept jusqu'au terminus. Take bus number seven to the last stop.
• Descendez à la deuxième station, près du centre commercial. Get off at the second station, near the shopping centre.
• L'entrée est derrière le bâtiment, à gauche. The entrance is behind the building, on the left.
• Traversez la rue et l'arrêt est juste devant la pharmacie. Cross the street and the stop is right in front of the pharmacy.
• Au coin de la rue, vous verrez un café ; tournez là. At the corner, you'll see a café; turn there.
• Mon bureau est au troisième étage, à droite de l'ascenseur. My office is on the third floor, to the right of the elevator.
• Le guichet de l'immigration est entre l'accueil et la sortie. The immigration counter is between reception and the exit.
• Marchez jusqu'à la boulangerie, puis tournez à gauche. Walk to the bakery, then turn left.
• Ma maison est la troisième à droite, en face du parc. My house is the third on the right, across from the park.
• Le distributeur est à l'intérieur, à côté de la porte. The cash machine is inside, next to the door.
• Sortez du métro et prenez la rue à droite jusqu'au bout. Come out of the metro and take the street on the right to the end.
• Le rendez-vous est au deuxième étage, au fond du couloir. The appointment is on the second floor, at the end of the corridor.

Each slip below comes from a habit in your first language — completely natural, and worth noticing once so you can catch it before the exam. Prepositions of place are especially exposed to this, because Hindi and Punjabi build "where" very differently from French.

• These are the preposition-of-place slips that cost the most marks, sorted by type.
• Read the wrong version, then the fix, then the why — then practise the same pattern live in the Drills tab.
• Sections A, B and C below deserve extra attention: choosing the country word and getting the contraction right are the two things graders notice first, and both come back in the deep-dive at the end.

A · Using à or dans for a country instead of en / au / aux

B · Wrong gender choice — en vs au

C · Forgetting the contraction — à/de + le stays apart

D · Using en for a city instead of à

E · chez with a place-noun instead of à

F · Forgetting the contraction inside position phrases

G · dans vs en for transport and fixed spots

H · "From" errors — de + le/les stays apart

I · Vowel-start country slip — au instead of en

J · Putting the preposition after the place word

• In the speaking exam there is no time to reason out "is this country feminine?
• does that need au or en?" while the examiner waits — the little place-word only earns points when it comes out whole and fast, glued to the front of the place.
• So do everything here out loud: say the line, swap one word, say it again.
• Your target is a mouth that reaches for à for a city, en / au / aux for a country, and the right position word (sur, sous, à côté de…) automatically.
• This tab points straight at the everyday exam moments — saying where you're from and where you live, and giving or asking directions.
• Tap 🌐 EN up top for translations.

• Cover the right column. Read the English cue on the left and say the full French answer out loud immediately — a whole sentence with the right little word, not just the place-name.
• Then uncover and compare. Why it helps: the examiner asks where you're from or where something is and you must answer straight away, with the preposition already in place.

• This is the everyday exam scene: you introduce where you come from and where you live, then you stop a passer-by and ask for directions.
• Do it out loud in two parts, with no more than 3 seconds to start each one — then tap the button to compare with a full sample.
• It stitches together everything in this chapter: de/du for origin, à + city and en/au + country for your address, and position/direction words to ask the way.

Same idea, smaller. Say your answer out loud first, then tap Show a sample response to compare. Keep the little place-word glued to the front of every place.

• Writing is the one place you can slow down and check your work.
• So build up in safe steps: one correct sentence placing yourself (city + country) → a short "where I'm from / where I live" paragraph → a description of where things are in a room → a set of written directions from A to B.
• Short and correct beats long and broken — a wrong au for en, or a missing contraction (à le instead of au), costs more than a plain, safe sentence ever will.

• Quick-fire practice, sorted by type — pick the right place-word, add the missing contraction, fix broken sentences, and a reading check.
• Two modes: 🟢 Pratique shows the answer straight away; ⏱️ Examen keeps the answers for the end. (This is separate from the 50-question Quiz tab.)

• Take a correct sentence and change one thing without breaking it — swap the city for a country, apply the right contraction, turn a location into a person's place with chez.
• Two modes: 🟢 Pratique shows the answer straight away; ⏱️ Examen keeps the answers for the end.
• Every question comes with an explanation.

Pick 🟢 Mode Pratique (correction + explanation immediately) or ⏱️ Mode Examen (corrections revealed at the end). You can open and close each category; every question comes with a full explanation that names the exact rule.

• Five stages, in order. Each stage is a different kind of work, and each one needs the one before it.
• Finish a stage before you open the next, and tick it when it is done.
• Your ticks are saved on this device, so you can close the page and come back.

• One honest rule: check a box only when it has been true for 3 days in a row.
• One good day can be luck — you might have just gotten lucky with easy countries.
• Three days in a row means the place-words are really yours.
• Your checks are saved on this device, so you can close the page and come back any time.

• Learning a rule is not one jump — it is a ladder with 7 steps.
• Each step is a little harder than the one before it.
• For place-words, that means moving from just recognising the right little word when you read one, all the way to catching yourself the moment an en Canada or a missing contraction slips out wrong.
• Climb the steps in order. It is completely normal to sit on step 2 or 3 for a while.

Read each line out loud. If it is true — and has been true for 3 days — check it. If you hesitate, that's useful too: it tells you exactly which tab to visit next.