FlexiLingoIn one line
àis French for at. At the corner · at eight o'clock — one spot, whether on a map or on a clock. And the sameà, pointed at a person, means something reaches them.
The forms on this page
| Form | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|
à | to · at · in — a single point in space, time, or a recipient | /a/ |
The table
| # | Job | What it says | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | a point in space | where — destination or resting place alike | Je vais à Paris. | /ʒə vɛ.z‿a pa.ʁi/ |
| 2 | a point in time | when | à midi | /a mi.di/ |
| 3 | a recipient | who something reaches | Je parle à Marie. | /ʒə paʁl a ma.ʁi/ |
| 4 | a defining trait | what a thing is for, or what marks it out | une machine à laver | /yn ma.ʃi.n‿a la.ve/ |
All four do the same thing: they put a finger on one spot. The rest is detail.
What "a point" means, in the plainest terms
English has the same word, and you use it every day: at.
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| at the corner | au coin de la rue | /o kwɛ̃ də la ʁy/ |
| at eight o'clock | à huit heures | /a ɥi.t‿œʁ/ |
| at work | au travail | /o tʁa.vaj/ |
At means one spot you could put a finger on. A map and a clock face are the same kind of thing: a surface with marked positions. à says here.
And that explains where à does not go: you never say "at tomorrow" either, because tomorrow is not a spot — it is a whole day. So demain stands bare in French too:
Je pars à huit heures et je reviens demain.
Your English instinct is right here — French simply makes the word obligatory where English sometimes drops it.
1) A point in space — where English makes you choose and French does not
English uses to for going and at for being there. French uses à for both:
| English | French | Preposition |
|---|---|---|
| I'm going to Paris | Je vais à Paris. /ʒə vɛ.z‿a pa.ʁi/ | à /a/ |
| I'm at Paris | Je suis à Paris. /ʒə sɥi a pa.ʁi/ | the same à /a/ |
| I'm going to school | Je vais à l'école. /ʒə vɛ.z‿a le.kɔl/ | à /a/ |
| I'm at school | Je suis à l'école. /ʒə sɥi a le.kɔl/ | the same à /a/ |
Movement or stillness is decided by the VERB, not the preposition.
allermoves,êtredoes not —àis identical in both.
Countries are the exception: à Paris ✅ but au Canada · en France — the rule is in lieux-a-en-au.
2) A point in time
| Example | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
à midi | at noon | /a mi.di/ |
à huit heures | at eight o'clock | /a ɥi.t‿œʁ/ |
à demain | see you tomorrow — an everyday goodbye | /a də.mɛ̃/ |
au printemps | in spring — à + le printemps | /o pʁɛ̃.tɑ̃/ |
de neuf heures à cinq heures | from nine to five | /də nœ.v‿œʁz a sɛ̃k œʁ/ |
àis a moment, not a stretch. For a stretch you haveen,pendant,dans— inprepositions-temps.
3) A recipient — and this is exactly where English misleads you
When something reaches a person, that person arrives with à:
| French | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
parler à quelqu'un | to speak to someone | /paʁ.le a kɛl.kœ̃/ |
donner à quelqu'un | to give to someone | /dɔ.ne a kɛl.kœ̃/ |
téléphoner à quelqu'un | to call someone | /te.le.fo.ne a kɛl.kœ̃/ |
répondre à quelqu'un | to answer someone | /ʁe.pɔ̃dʁ a kɛl.kœ̃/ |
penser à quelque chose | to think about something | /pɑ̃.se a kɛl.kə ʃɔz/ |
demander à quelqu'un | to ask someone | /də.mɑ̃.de a kɛl.kœ̃/ |
English matches French on almost none of them:
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
parler à | English also says "to" ✅ the one that lines up | /paʁ.le a/ |
penser à | English says "think about" — mismatched | /pɑ̃.se a/ |
téléphoner à | English says "call somebody", no preposition — mismatched | /te.le.fo.ne a/ |
répondre à | English says "answer somebody", no preposition — mismatched | /ʁe.pɔ̃dʁ a/ |
demander à | English says "ask somebody", no preposition — mismatched | /də.mɑ̃.de a/ |
So do not reach for the English preposition. Learn each verb together with the preposition it takes — the list is in
verbe-prepositions, and the pronoun that replaces it is inpronoms-coi.
And a related use: ownership after être:
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
C'est à moi. | It's mine | /sɛ.t‿a mwa/ |
Ce livre est à Marie. | This book is Marie's | /sə livʁ ɛ.t‿a ma.ʁi/ |
4) A defining trait — what a thing is for, or what marks it out
| Example | Meaning | What it tells you | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
une machine à laver | a washing machine | what it is for | /yn ma.ʃi.n‿a la.ve/ |
un verre à vin | a wine glass | what it is for | /œ̃ vɛʁ a vɛ̃/ |
une brosse à dents | a toothbrush | what it is for | /yn bʁɔs a dɑ̃/ |
une fille aux yeux bleus | a blue-eyed girl | what marks her out | /yn fij o.z‿jø blø/ |
un menu à quinze euros | a fifteen-euro menu | its price | /œ̃ mə.ny a kɛ̃.z‿ø.ʁo/ |
à pied à vélo | on foot · by bike | the manner | /a pje/ · /a ve.lo/ |
The classic trap —
àis purpose,deis contents:
un verre à vin= a glass made for wine, possibly emptyun verre de vin= a glass with wine in it
And a fifth job: à + infinitive
Here à means "for", or is simply the joint between two verbs:
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
verb + à /a/ + infinitive | commencer à parler /kɔ.mɑ̃.se a paʁ.le/ | to start speaking |
apprendre à nager /a.pʁɑ̃dʁ a na.ʒe/ | to learn to swim | |
réussir à finir /ʁe.y.siʁ a fi.niʁ/ | to manage to finish | |
noun + à /a/ + infinitive | quelque chose à faire /kɛl.kə ʃɔ.z‿a fɛʁ/ | something to do |
une chambre à louer /yn ʃɑ̃bʁ a lwe/ | a room to let | |
adjective + à /a/ + infinitive | facile à comprendre /fa.sil a kɔ̃.pʁɑ̃dʁ/ | easy to understand |
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens |
|---|---|
à /a/ fuses with le /lə//les /le/ | au /o/ and aux /o/ — compulsory, no exceptions. Detail in au-du-des |
Cities take à /a/, countries do not | à Toronto /a to.ʁɔ̃.to/ but au Canada /o ka.na.da/ en France /ɑ̃ fʁɑ̃s/ — in lieux-a-en-au /ljø.za.ɑ̃.no/ |
Vehicles: à /a/ or en /ɑ̃/? | If you sit on it, à /a/ (à pied /a pje/ à vélo /a ve.lo/ à cheval /a ʃə.val/); if you sit in it, en /ɑ̃/ (en voiture /ɑ̃ vwa.tyʁ/ en bus /ɑ̃ bys/ en avion /ɑ̃.n‿a.vjɔ̃/) |
à /a/ never precedes a direct-object pronoun | Je le vois. /ʒə lə vwa/ not Je vois à lui /ʒə vwa.z‿a lɥi/à /a/ |
à /a/ has the accent, a /a/ does not | à /a/ is the preposition, a /a/ is avoir /a.vwaʁ/ in the third person: Il a un livre. /i.l‿a œ̃ livʁ/ against Il va à Paris. /il va a pa.ʁi/ They sound identical — in homophones /o.mo.fon/ |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I'm going to Paris | Je vais à Paris. | /ʒə vɛ.z‿a pa.ʁi/ |
| I'm in Paris | Je suis à Paris. | /ʒə sɥi a pa.ʁi/ |
| The train arrives at noon | Le train arrive à midi. | /lə tʁɛ̃ a.ʁiv a mi.di/ |
| I'm talking to Marie | Je parle à Marie. | /ʒə paʁl a ma.ʁi/ |
| I'm thinking about you | Je pense à toi. | /ʒə pɑ̃s a twa/ |
| It's mine | C'est à moi. | /sɛ.t‿a mwa/ |
| a washing machine | une machine à laver | /yn ma.ʃin a la.ve/ |
| a wine glass | un verre à vin | /œ̃ vɛʁ a vɛ̃/ |
| a blue-eyed girl | une fille aux yeux bleus | /yn fij o.z‿jø blø/ |
| a fifteen-euro menu | un menu à quinze euros | /œ̃ mə.ny a kɛ̃.z‿ø.ʁo/ |
| I'm going on foot | Je vais à pied. | /ʒə vɛ.z‿a pje/ |
| I have something to do | J'ai quelque chose à faire. | /ʒe kɛl.kə ʃoz a fɛʁ/ |
| I'm starting to understand | Je commence à comprendre. | /ʒə kɔ.mɑ̃s a kɔ̃.pʁɑ̃dʁ/ |
| See you tomorrow! | À demain ! | /a də.mɛ̃/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Je suis dans Paris. | Je suis à Paris. | Cities take à, whether you go there or are there |
Je vais à le parc. | Je vais au parc. | à le does not exist |
Je téléphone Marie. | Je téléphone à Marie. | English "call someone" has no preposition; French needs one |
Je demande Marie. | Je demande à Marie. | Same trap — English "ask someone" drops it, French does not |
Je pense de toi. | Je pense à toi. | "Think about" does not map onto de |
un verre de vin for an empty glass | un verre à vin | à is purpose, de is contents |
en pied | à pied | You sit on it, so à |
Il à un livre. | Il a un livre. | That a is the verb; it takes no accent |
J'ai commencé parler. | J'ai commencé à parler. | commencer links to its infinitive with à |
Why one word does so much
A Latin case that collapsed and handed its work to `à`
Latin had a separate noun case for the recipient, the dative — no preposition was needed, the noun itself changed shape:
| Latin | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Mariae | to Maria | /ma.ʁje/ |
Mariam | Maria (direct object) | /ma.ʁjam/ |
In French those cases disappeared and the language had to do their work with prepositions instead. à took the job.
And because à comes from Latin ad, meaning "towards", that same picture — a point something arrives at — survives in every one of its uses:
| Job | What the point is |
|---|---|
| space | a point on the map |
| time | a point on the clock |
| recipient | the person something reaches |
| trait | the purpose a thing was built towards |
So these four jobs are not four rules — they are one rule seen in four places.
And de is its mirror image: from Latin de, meaning "from", it absorbed the work of the genitive and ablative cases. One towards, one away. The contrast is in a-ou-de.