When to Use 'À' vs. 'De' in French

https://www.thoughtco.com/a-vs-de-french-prepositions-4080520

 

 

Generally speaking, à means "to," "at," or "in,"

while de means "of" or "from."

 

Both prepositions have numerous uses and to understand each better, it is best to compare them.

 

• Learn more about the preposition de.
• Learn more about the preposition à.

 

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)

À De

 

Additional Uses of À

The use of à is 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 preposition de also 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 À and De With Verbs

It is essential to understand the difference between the French prepositions à and de because the meaning of some verbs depends on whether you use à or de. For other verbs, both prepositions may be used in the same sentence.

Verbs With Different Meanings When À or De Is Used

In French, a single verb can have two 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're speaking 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 Both À and De in the Same Sentence

The prepositions à and de can be used in a single sentence, often when you want someone to do something. 

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 With À and De 

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

• à means "to," "at," or ​"in"
• de means "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 prês are two different words, but because they are homophones, it makes sense to include them here for comparison.

Verbs With À or 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