français · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Places in town
Locate essential services and landmarks in an unfamiliar town.
Understand the choice
Pair every place with a purpose or movement: aller à la banque, chercher un livre à la bibliothèque, prendre un train à la gare. Gender matters because à and de form contractions with masculine articles.
Core rule: Use être to locate places and entre ... et ... to position something between two references.
Notice it in context
La pharmacie est entre la banque et le supermarché.
The pharmacy is between the bank and the supermarket.
Est locates the pharmacy; entre ... et ... creates a two-landmark frame.
Je vais à la banque après le travail.
I go to the bank after work.
À la stays separate before feminine banque.
La bibliothèque est près de la place.
The library is near the square.
Près requires de before its reference point.
What to remember
- Gare normally means a railway or bus station; station is used for metro stops, resorts, or service stations.
- Librairie sells books; bibliothèque lends or houses them.
Common trap: Do not use librairie for a library. It is a bookstore; the public library is la bibliothèque.