French dictionary

à/o/

preposition · A1 · Frequency 26

preposition

at; in; to (a place)
Used only before masculine singular nouns (e.g., le parc, le centre); contracts to 'au'; never used before feminine or plural nouns.
at (a time)
Used for specific times (e.g., au milieu de la nuit) or general periods (au matin, au XIXe siècle); not used for dates or years.
to; toward; for (a person/thing)
Introduces indirect objects, often with verbs like parler à quelqu'un, penser à quelque chose; requires stressed pronouns after (à moi, à elle, etc.).

Nous allons au parc après l'école.
We go to the park after school.
Le musée est ouvert au printemps et à l'automne.
The museum is open in spring and autumn.
Elle pense souvent à son frère qui vit à Lyon.
She often thinks about her brother who lives in Lyon.

Il est au Paris.
Il est à Paris.
Proper place names like 'Paris' usually take no article, so it's 'à Paris', not 'au Paris'; adding an article (*à le Paris) and contracting it is a classic learner error.

One of the most common French prepositions; contracts with definite articles: à + le → au; à + les → aux.

Indicates direction, destination, or endpoint
Used to indicate the direction, destination, or temporal endpoint of an action.
Indicates location, at a place or a point in time
Used to indicate a specific place or particular time.
indicates possession
Used to indicate the starting point, source, or possession.
Indicates manner, means, or instrument
Used to indicate an action done by means or instrument.
Indicates purpose or used in compound nouns
Used to form compound nouns indicating the purpose or function of something.
Used in interjections as warnings or exhortations
Commonly found in spoken interjections expressing warnings or exhortations.
Indicates approximate number or range
Used to express an approximate number or range.
Indicates the recipient in certain phrasal verbs
Used in certain phrasal verbs to indicate the recipient of the action.
Indicates accompaniment or association
Used to indicate being with or associated with someone or something.

Nous allons à la gare après le déjeuner.
We are going to the train station after lunch.
Le train arrive à midi.
The train arrives at noon.
Ce carnet appartient à ma sœur.
This notebook belongs to my sister.
Elle écrit à la main dans son journal.
She writes by hand in her journal.

Je vais *à Paris en train.
Je vais à Paris en train.
à Paris is correct; a common error is inserting an asterisk or space, but more frequently learners wrongly combine à with the definite article (e.g., *au Paris or *à la Paris) — however, city names like Paris take no article after à.
C’est le livre *à Marie.
C’est le livre de Marie.
For static possession (e.g., 'Marie's book'), à is incorrect; de must be used. à expresses dynamic transfer or destination ('the book for Marie'), not inherent ownership. Misusing à for static possession is a well-documented A1-level error.