There are four elements to learning French prepositions that are often a challenge for English speakers: how to express "about" in French, how to express "by" in French, when not to use a preposition in French, and how to use prepositions in French idioms. For instance, have you ever wondered why French people say en voiture meaning by car but à vélo meaning by bicycle? Or have you been puzzled trying to express “about” in different contexts?
Learning prepositions can be daunting because sometimes the only way to master them is to memorize their use. This is the case for the combination of verbs with the prepositions de or à . Another way is to study them by theme: two major categories are prepositions of time and prepositions of place.
In this article, you will find out about the variety of prepositions used to express “about” and “by” in French, learn French verbs which don’t need a preposition (even though they do in English!), and read about useful rules and idioms that will help you speak French fluently.
What’s French for “about”?
When translating “about” into French, there’s not just one easy rule to follow. The French translation of “about” depends on the context and the verb used in the sentence. Therefore, it is important to look at the whole context of the sentence when making your translation.
When to use ‘s’agir de’ (to be about)?
When you want to say what something “is about,” use the impersonal verb s’agir de, which is only conjugated with the impersonal pronoun il as its subject. Its equivalent in English is “to deal with” or “to be about.”
When to use ‘au sujet de’ and ‘à propos de’?
When “about” introduces the topic of something, it can be translated as au sujet de or à propos de, which both literally mean “on the topic of.” They can be used after both verbs and nouns.
When to use the preposition ‘sur’?
Another way of expressing “about” is to use the preposition sur meaning on, which can be used after nouns. It is perhaps less formal and used more when speaking.
When to use the preposition ‘de’?
The French preposition de introduces a topic when it comes after certain prepositional verbs like parler de meaning to talk about or discuter de meaning to discuss. These verbs need to be memorized. Below are a couple examples, but check out our list of French verbs followed by de.
When to use ‘environ,’ ‘à peu près,’ and ‘vers’?
When “about” introduces an approximate quantity, use environ or à peu près.
When “about” introduces an approximate time, use vers.
When to use ‘et si’ + imperfect (what about + verb-ing)?
If you want to suggest doing something, you can use the expression et si followed by a subject and the imperfect tense.
You now know how to express “about” in various contexts, so it’s time to have a look at ways to express “by” in French. Let’s go!
How to say “by” in French?
“By” is often translated into French with par, but you are about to see that there are many more options! There are also rules you can learn to make it easier for you to know which preposition to use when.
When to use ‘en’ or ‘à’ for methods of transportation?
To put it simply, the preposition en is used to introduce a means of transport which you go in, whereas à introduces ways of transport you go on.
| en + | à + |
|---|---|
|
|
For example:
How to use ‘d’ici’ and ‘avant’ for time?
The French preposition d’ici is used to introduce a deadline. D’ici can be followed by the preposition à, but the à is usually omitted when introducing time. D’ici (à) can also be replaced by the prepositions avant meaning before or pour meaning for.
How to use the gerund to express “by verb-ing”?
A French gerund, which is the preposition en followed by the present participle, can be used to introduce how something can or will happen.
How to use ‘selon’ and ‘pour’ to give an opinion?
The prepositions selon meaning according to and pour meaning as for are used to introduce a personal opinion in French. They are followed by a name or a stressed pronoun.
How to use ‘par’ in the passive voice?
“By” can be translated as par when it introduces an agent in the French pasive voice. The agent is the person or thing who does the action.
How to use ‘par’ + measurements?
Par can also be used when giving measurements, and comes between a length measurement and a width measurement.
How to use ‘tout seul’ to express “by myself”?
If you want to say you have done something “by yourself” in French, you need to say you have done it “all alone.” The phrase tout seul meaning all alone is composed of the adverb tout meaning all, completely and the adjective seul meaning alone. The adjective agrees in gender and number with the subject and, exceptionally, tout also agrees in gender and number whenever seul is feminine to make it sound different from the masculine phrase.
| Masculine forms | Feminine forms | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | tout seul Transcription: /too seuhl/ | toute seule Transcription: /toot seuhl/ |
| Plural | tout seuls Transcription: /too seuhl/ | toutes seules Transcription: /toot seuhl/ |
You have seen what the French equivalents of the prepositions “about” and “by” are. Let’s now learn French verbs which don’t need a preposition but do in English. Feeling puzzled? Read below!
Which verbs do not need a preposition in French?
Some verbs that are always followed by a preposition in English (e.g. “go up” or “take off”) don’t need a preposition when you translate them into French. Often generic verbs in English like “to go” have a different meaning depending on the preposition that follows (up, down, off, about, etc.). But in French, we often use a unique verb to express each of these meanings. We particularly have a lot of French verbs for expressing directional motion (e.g. “to go” + “up/down/around/etc…”), but other verbs, such as “to step in,” do this as well! Let’s have a look at a handful of these verbs:
For example:
One last thing before you can head to the tricky French prepositions activities: French idioms!
What are the French idioms using prepositions?
Now, let’s have a look at some common French idioms which contain prepositions. Some may be identical to English phrases, others may differ and feel counterintuitive, so it is important to memorize them!
Idioms with par
For example:
Idioms with pour
For example:
‘Bref’: What to remember about confusing French prepositions!
When trying to choose the proper preposition in French, keep what we’ve reviewed today in mind:
Par is not always used to express “by.” The most common use of par is to introduce who’s done something in the passive voice.
Au sujet de and sur are used to introduce topics; environ + quantities, vers + time.
En + transport you go in, à + transport you go on.
The equivalents of English prepositions need to be memorized in context!
I hope you have learned plenty of new rules and idioms which will make you sound fluent in French. Now, you are ready to head over to our tricky French prepositions activities!
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