français · A2 · grammar · 4 minutes
À, en, au, aux, de, and chez
Choose place words from destination, origin, gender, and whether the destination is a person or business.
Understand the choice
Place prepositions compress several decisions. First separate movement to from origin from. Then classify the place as city, country, or person. Country gender and number determine en, au, aux, du, de, or des.
Core rule: Use à for cities, en for most feminine countries, au for masculine countries, aux for plural countries, and chez before a person or professional.
Notice it in context
Nous allons en Italie, puis nous rentrons chez nos amis à Rome.
We are going to Italy, then returning to our friends’ home in Rome.
En marks feminine Italie, chez introduces the hosts, and à marks the city Rome.
Il revient du Canada et passe par Londres.
He is returning from Canada and passes through London.
Du marks origin from a masculine country; par marks the route.
Elle travaille chez un médecin près de Lyon.
She works at a doctor’s office near Lyon.
Chez can name a professional workplace; près de locates it relative to Lyon.
What to remember
- Feminine country names usually end in -e, with exceptions such as le Mexique and le Cambodge.
- Some islands and countries follow lexical conventions that must be learned with the name.
Common trap: Do not use à before every country. Say à Paris but en France, au Japon, and aux États-Unis.