French Prepositions: Simple and Complex Form

Let's start with simple prepositions in French , which naturally also form the basis for complex prepositions. As in Italian, French prepositions are very short words that indicate a relationship between words within a sentence.

Ours are " di", "a", "da", "in", "con", "su", "per", "tra", "fra "; the French ones are quite similar, although they have some peculiarities in usage, which we'll see in this article.

Here is a table of simple prepositions in French with their translation and a small example:

Perhaps the preposition that most identifies the French language, the preposition à, as we have said, is translated with our " a ", but in reality it can be applied in slightly different ways than in Italian, and often to translate it into Italian we have to resort to our articulated prepositions.

Mainly, it is used for:

• Give information about the time
  à deux heures = at ten o'clock
• Introduce a state complement in place
  of à la maison = at home
• Introduce a complement of motion to place
  On va à la montagne! = Let's go to the mountains!
• Indicate membership or ownership .
  This style belongs to François. = This pen belongs to François.
• Indicating the function of an object , often speaking about household appliances.
  J'ai acheté une nouvelle machine à laver. = I bought a new washing machine.

As we mentioned, there are many differences in the use of simple prepositions in French compared to Italian. For example, in some cases they are used in place of other prepositions, such as when in Italian we have da + infinitive :

There is nothing to fear = Il n'y a rien à craindre

And also in many cases where we would use the preposition "in":

in time = à temps

on his knees = à genoux

by bicycle = à bicyclette

in the future = à l'avenir

able to = à méme de

In other cases, however, the preposition à is omitted :

• If it follows a verb of movement + infinitive:
  I have to go and buy flowers = Je dois aller acheter des fleurs
• In some expressions, such as prices "per kilo":
  This cheese costs €20 per kilo! = Ce fromage coûte 20€ le kilo!

Also pay attention to the following particular cases, in which we might instinctively use the preposition à but in reality it would be an error:

• By the thousands = par milliers
• A voce = de vive voix
• In color = de colors
• A memoria = par coeur

The simple preposition avec translates our " with ," and therefore serves to introduce the same complements it does in Italian: company, means, and manner.

Let's look at some examples of its use:

• Companion of companionship
  J'ai vu Marie avec Julie hier soir. = I saw Marie with Julie last night.
  Avec toi, tout est plus amusant. = Everything is more fun with you.
  Viens avec nous! = Come with us!
• Half complement
  J'ai cassa la noix de coco avec le marteau. = I broke the coconut with the hammer.
  With a little chance, nous le ferons. = With a little luck we'll make it.
• Manner complement C'est avec plaisir que je vous rejoins pour un café. =
  It is with pleasure that I join you for a coffee.

I repeated it with insistence. = He repeated it insistently.

With perseverance, you can pay attention to that object. = With consistency you can achieve any goal.

Here too, there are some translation differences to note. When we talk about means, meaning means of transportation , where we use "con," other prepositions are used in French:

by plane = by plane

Even when we talk about weather conditions we don't use avec:

in this weather = par ce temps

It will probably sound very strange to you, but when we want to say with + a body part , in French we don't use avec but rather de:

with my eyes = de mes yeux

with my hands = de mes mains

Now let's talk about the preposition de , one of the most widely used prepositions in the French language. This is because it corresponds to not one, but two of our simple prepositions, and in fact we can translate it either as " di " or " da " depending on the context. In fact, in some cases we can also translate it as "in," and in others even as "con"! In short, learning to use it is essential to gaining confidence when speaking French.

The preposition de is used for:

• Indicate where you come from
  Sara vient de Gênes. = Sara comes from Genoa.
• Talking about the author of a work
  J'ai vu le dernier chef-d'œuvre de Banksy = I saw Banksy's latest masterpiece.
• Introduce the specifying complement
  C'est le déjeuner de Ben, ne le mange pas. = It's Ben's lunch, don't eat it.
• Introduce the manner complement.
  Se comporte de manière agressive. = He behaves aggressively .
  Quand il vous parle, il le fait d' une voix douce. = When he speaks to you, he does so in a soft voice. (With a word that begins with a vowel, we can eliminate the -ee and replace it with an apostrophe.)

The preposition de is also used after the formula verb etre + adjective + infinitive :

Example :
Il est interdit de marcher sur l'herbe. = It is forbidden to trample on the flowerbeds.

And after some verbs, in sentences where, in Italian, it is usually omitted:

• Il suffit de parler et tout est résolu = Enough talking and everything is solved.
• Un homme s'est approché de ma maison = A man approached my house.
• On ferait mieux de rentrer, il va pleuvoir. = We better go back inside, it's about to rain.

Conversely, we omit the "de" in French after verbs of opinion, whereas in Italian we would use it. Verbs of opinion are those that introduce a thought, such as: croire (to believe), penser (to think), souhaiter (to desire), affirmer (to affirm), dire (to say), espérer (to hope). Let's look at some examples of this case too:

• J'espère pouvoir vous voir dawn morning. = I hope to be able to say hello to you tomorrow morning.
• Je pense avoir gagné le pari. = I think I won the bet.

Here too, we must pay attention to certain common expressions that in Italian are known to start with "di", but which in French are introduced by another preposition:

• in summer = en été
• in winter = en hiver
• di giorno = le jour (here we even replace the preposition with the definite article)
• at night = la nuit
• secretly = en cachette

Just as in Spanish we find the great problem of " por y para ", also in French grammar presents us with the dilemma of how to translate " per ": in this case, the doubt arises between the simple French prepositions pour and par .

Pour is used for:

• Indicate the destination
  Nous partons pour Madrid = We are leaving for Madrid.
• Introduce the cause complement
  Pour cette raison, je suis allé à l'école en vélo = For this reason I went to school by bike.
• Introduce the final complement
  Il a écrit une lettre pour se rattraper. = He wrote a letter to ask for forgiveness.

While par is used for:

• Indicate a passage through
  On passe par la plage, c'est plus rapide. = Let's go through the beach, it's quicker.
• Introduce the agent or efficient cause complement (in Italian, "da" is used).
  Cette chanson a été écrite par ma mère. = This song was written by my mother.
  J'ai été frappé par une pierre. = I was hit by a stone.
• Enter the middle complement:
  Je vous envoie tous les documents par email. = I'm sending you all the documents by email .

There are some cases in which in Italian we prefer to use con, while in French it is correct to use the simple preposition par:

• J'ai fini par accepter une offre indécente = I ended up accepting an indecent proposal.
• The book begins in a very long phrase. = The book begins with a very long sentence.