French uses several different prepositions to say "at," "in," or "to" a place, and picking the right one depends on what kind of place it is: a city, an enclosed space, someone's home, or a country. Countries add one more twist: the preposition depends on the country's gender.
1. À, dans, chez, vers: the everyday prepositions
| à + city | On va à Nice cet été. (We're going to Nice this summer.) |
| dans + enclosed space | Mes clés sont dans le tiroir. (My keys are in the drawer.) |
| chez + person | On va chez Sofia à quinze heures. (We're going to Sofia's at 3pm.) |
| vers + direction or approximate time | On part vers quinze heures. (We're leaving around 3pm.) |
2. Au, à la, à l', aux: à + the definite article
For most other places, you combine à with the definite article (le, la, l', les). à and le contract into au, and à and les contract into aux; à la and à l' don't change.
| Elle est au marché ce matin. | She's at the market this morning. (à + le marché) |
| Il est à la plage. | He's at the beach. |
| Les enfants sont à l'école. | The kids are at school. |
| Elle va aux toilettes. | She's going to the bathroom. (à + les toilettes) |
3. Countries: the same contraction, plus one exception
Country names follow the exact same à + article logic as au marché above, based on the country's gender and number. The one exception: feminine countries use en instead of à la.
| Feminine country → en | la France → en France, la Chine → en Chine |
| Masculine country → au | le Japon → au Japon, le Canada → au Canada |
| Plural country → aux | les États-Unis → aux États-Unis, les Pays-Bas → aux Pays-Bas |
| City → à (no article) | Paris → à Paris, Tokyo → à Tokyo |
Watch out: a masculine country that starts with a vowel sound also uses en, not au, purely for pronunciation: l'Islande → en Islande, l'Australie → en Australie. Same idea as mon replacing ma before a vowel with possessives.
4. Quick reference
| à | city, or a person's specific location |
| dans | an enclosed space or container |
| chez | someone's home, business, or workplace |
| vers | a direction, or an approximate time |
| au / à la / à l' | a specific everyday place (contracted à + article) |
| en | a feminine country, or a masculine country starting with a vowel sound |
| au | a masculine country |
| aux | a plural country, or a plural everyday place |