You can navigate a city, use transport, and apply contracted articles — now it's time to fine-tune your spatial language. This lesson focuses on the prepositions that describe precise positions: behind, in front of, between, inside, on top of, and underneath. These words are essential for describing where things are in a city, a room, or any scene. Camille helps a lost tourist near Notre-Dame, and you'll pick up all the vocabulary you need for describing your surroundings in French.
Learning tips
- The prepositions in this lesson are all simple, single-word items — 'derrière', 'devant', 'entre', 'dans', 'sur', 'sous'. Practise them with objects around you right now: your phone is ON the table (sur la table), your bag is UNDER the chair (sous la chaise).
- 'Entre' always takes two reference points connected by 'et': 'entre la banque et la poste' (between the bank and the post office). You can't say 'entre la banque' alone.
- Notice that 'sur' can mean 'on' (a surface) or in the phrase 'sur la place' — 'on the square'. This is the same usage as in English ('on the square').
- These prepositions all appear frequently in everyday descriptions of places. Try describing a room in your house using 'sur', 'sous', 'devant', 'derrière' — great low-stakes practice.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| au | to the (masc. sg.) / au |
| à la | to the (fem. sg.) / à la |
| à l' | to the (before vowel) / à l' |
| aux | to the (plural) / aux |
| du | from the (masc. sg.) / du |
| de la | from the (fem. sg.) / de la |
| de l' | from the (before vowel) / de l' |
| des | from the (plural) / des |
| aller | to go |
| venir | to come |
Dialog
Camille is near Notre-Dame when a tourist (played by Lucas) asks for directions to the museum. She uses several positional prepositions to describe where things are. The second scene takes place in the neighbourhood, where Camille describes the layout of local buildings.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| derrière | /de.ʁjɛʁ/ | behind | Very common in city descriptions: 'Le jardin est derrière le bâtiment' (The garden is behind the building). |
| devant | /də.vɑ̃/ | in front of | The opposite of 'derrière'. 'Le bus s'arrête devant la gare' (The bus stops in front of the station). |
| entre | /ɑ̃tʁ/ | between | Always used with two elements joined by 'et': 'entre la banque et la poste'. Never used with just one reference point. |
| dans | /dɑ̃/ | in / inside | For enclosed spaces: 'dans la rue' (in the street), 'dans le quartier' (in the neighbourhood), 'dans la maison' (in the house). |
| sur | /syʁ/ | on / on top of | 'Sur la table' (on the table), 'sur la place' (on the square). Used for surfaces and flat areas. |
| sous | /su/ | under / beneath / below | The opposite of 'sur'. 'Le vélo est sous le pont' (The bike is under the bridge). |
| le bâtiment | /lə bɑ.ti.mɑ̃/ | the building | A general word for any large building. The word 'bâtiment' is masculine. Different from 'l'immeuble' which is specifically an apartment block. |
| l' l'immeuble | /li.mœbl/ | the apartment block / block of flats | More specific than 'le bâtiment' — refers to a residential building with multiple flats. Starts with a vowel: 'l'immeuble'. |
| le pont | /lə pɔ̃/ | the bridge | Paris has 37 bridges crossing the Seine. The most famous is the Pont Neuf ('New Bridge'), which is actually the oldest surviving bridge in Paris! |
| la rivière | /la ʁi.vjɛʁ/ | the river | Paris's river is 'la Seine'. 'La rivière' is a general word for river (smaller rivers); large rivers like the Loire are sometimes called 'le fleuve'. |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| au-dessus | /o.də.sy/ | ||
| au-dessous | /o.də.su/ | ||
| autour | /o.tuʁ/ | ||
| le long de | /lə lɔ̃ də/ | ||
| le quartier | /lə kaʁ.tje/ | ||
| le plan | /lə plɑ̃/ |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| derrière le parc | behind the park |
| devant la gare | in front of the station |
| entre la banque et la poste | between the bank and the post office |
Grammar: Prepositions of location — derrière, devant, entre, dans, sur, sous
| Préposition | Sens | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| derrière | behind | Le jardin est derrière le bâtiment. |
| devant | in front of | Le bus s'arrête devant la gare. |
| entre | between | Le café est entre la banque et la poste. |
| dans | in / inside | Il y a un parc dans le quartier. |
| sur | on / on top of | La carte est sur la table. |
| sous | under / beneath | Le vélo est sous le pont. |
Today's grammar focus is a set of six essential prepositions of location: derrière (behind), devant (in front of), entre (between), dans (in/inside), sur (on), and sous (under). Unlike the movement prepositions from lesson 4.2, these describe static positions — where something IS rather than how to get there. Each of these prepositions is followed directly by a noun phrase, with the appropriate article. Compare: 'Le café est derrière la gare' (The café is behind the station), 'Le café est devant la gare' (The café is in front of the station), 'Le café est entre la gare et le parc' (The café is between the station and the park). Remember that 'dans' is used for enclosed or bounded spaces: 'dans la rue' (in the street), 'dans le bâtiment' (inside the building). 'Sur' is for surfaces: 'sur la table' (on the table), 'sur la place' (on the square). 'Sous' is the opposite of 'sur'. These prepositions are all invariable — they never change form, regardless of the gender or number of the following noun. That makes them easy to use once you've memorised them.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct preposition of location from this lesson.
- Le jardin est l'immeuble. (behind)(the garden is at the back of the building)
- Le café est la banque et la pharmacie. (between)(the café is sandwiched between two places — always needs 'et')
- L'arrêt de bus est la gare. (in front of)(the bus stop is at the front, facing the station)
- Il y a un marché le quartier. (in)(inside the area/neighbourhood — bounded space)
- Le vélo est le pont. (under)(the bike is beneath the bridge)
Grammar Application
Choose the correct preposition from the pair given to complete each sentence.
- La clé est la table. (on) → sur / sous ?(key is resting on the table surface — sur or sous?)
- Le parc est le musée et la gare. (between) → entre / devant ?(park is between two landmarks — entre or devant?)
- L'école est l'immeuble. (behind) → derrière / devant ?(school is at the back of the building — derrière or devant?)
- Il y a un café ce bâtiment. (inside/in) → dans / sur ?(café is inside the building — dans or sur?)
- La voiture est le pont. (under) → sous / sur ?(car is beneath the bridge — sous or sur?)
Translate into French
Translate each sentence into French using the prepositions from this lesson.
- The garden is behind the apartment block.
- The bakery is between the bank and the post office.
- The bus stop is in front of the station.
- The bridge is over the river.
- There is a market in this neighbourhood.
Build Your Own Sentence
Write your own French sentence describing the location of something — a building, an object, or a place — using prepositions from this lesson.
Takeaway
With derrière, devant, entre, dans, sur, and sous, you can precisely describe the position of anything in a city — these six prepositions are the building blocks of spatial description in French.