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Dans, Sur, Sous, Chez: French Prepositions of Place
The core French prepositions of place are dans (in), sur (on), sous (under), devant (in front of), derrière (behind) and entre (between), plus a compound set ending in de: à côté de (next to), en face de (across from), près de (near), loin de (far from). With everyday objects and rooms, the simple ones map straight onto English (a few set phrases differ — dans le train = on the train); the compound ones hide one grammar move — their final de contracts with le and les.
Two things here have no English equivalent, and they cause most of the mistakes: that contraction (à côté du parc, never "à côté de le parc") and chez, "at someone’s place" in a single word.
In short
- Simple: dans (in), sur (on), sous (under), devant (in front of), derrière (behind), entre (between) — straight before the noun.
- Compound: à côté de, en face de, près de, loin de end in de, which contracts: à côté du parc, près des magasins.
- Chez = at (or to) someone’s place: chez moi, chez Marie, chez le médecin.
simple prepositioncompound prepositionde + articlechez· hover a highlighted word for its label
The whole set at a glance
The first six go straight in front of the noun. Anything ending in de needs the contraction check below; chez gets its own section.
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| dans | in, inside | dans la boîte |
| sur | on | sur la table |
| sous | under | sous le lit |
| devant | in front of | devant la porte |
| derrière | behind | derrière la maison |
| entre | between | entre les deux fenêtres |
| à côté de | next to | à côté du parc |
| en face de | across from | en face de la gare |
| près de | near | près de l’école |
| loin de | far from | loin du centre |
| au-dessus de | above | au-dessus des toits |
| au-dessous de | below | au-dessous de la fenêtre |
| chez | at …’s place | chez Marie |
The simple ones: dans, sur, sous, devant, derrière, entre
With everyday objects and rooms, these six map straight onto English: nothing moves or changes shape. Keep the physical picture — dans inside, sur on top — and you won’t mix them up.
Your keys are in the drawer, not on the table.
— dans = inside a container; sur = on a surface.
The cat is sleeping under the bed.
— sous is the opposite of sur.
I’ll wait for you in front of the cinema, not behind it.
— devant and derrière are opposites; neither takes de.
The bakery is between the church and the school.
— entre always needs two reference points.
The compound ones: watch the de
All the compound prepositions end in de, and that de behaves like every other de in French: before the articles le and les, it fuses into one word — the same contraction taught on definite articles.
What the final de becomes
- de + le → du: à côté du café
- de + les → des: en face des magasins
- de + la → de la (no change): loin de la gare
- de + l’ → de l’ (no change): près de l’école
The bus stop is next to the park.
— De + le fuses into du.
We live across from the town hall.
— Feminine de la stays as it is — only le and les contract.
She lives near the station but far from the shops.
— Plural: de + les fuses into des.
They live above the restaurant.
— Its mirror is au-dessous de (below); both end in de and contract the same way.
Chez: the preposition English doesn’t have
Chez + a person means at — or to — that person’s home: chez moi = "at my place", chez Marie = "at Marie’s". Pronouns after chez take the stressed form (moi, toi, lui…), and the same word covers being there and going there:
On est chez nous. Elle rentre chez elle.
With a profession, chez means the practice or shop: chez le médecin, chez le coiffeur. A shop or building as a place takes à instead: à la boulangerie.
Tonight we’re having dinner at Marie’s.
— chez + a name = at that person’s home.
I’m going to the doctor’s tomorrow morning.
— chez + a profession = that person’s practice.
Putting it together: describing a place
Place prepositions do their best work after il y a ("there is / there are") when describing a street or a room — and they stack happily onto chez:
There’s a small café across from my place.
— Before chez the de stays plain — chez carries no article to contract with.
Common mistakes
✗La banque est à côté de le supermarché.
✓La banque est à côté du supermarché.
De + the article le always contracts to du — "de le" never survives before a noun, even inside à côté de.
✗Le dîner est dans la table.
✓Le dîner est sur la table.
Dans means inside. The meal sits on the surface, so sur — dans la table would put it inside the wood.
✗Ce week-end, je dors à la maison de Paul.
✓Ce week-end, je dors chez Paul.
The natural French for "at Paul’s" is chez + person; "à la maison de" is a word-for-word calque that French speakers avoid.
✗Je vais chez la boulangerie.
✓Je vais à la boulangerie.
Chez needs a person: chez le boulanger works because the baker is a person, but the shop as a place takes à.
Check yourself
1 / 5Le chat se cache ___ le lit.
2 / 5La librairie est à côté ___ parc.
3 / 5Il y a une pharmacie en face ___ école.
4 / 5Samedi soir, on dîne ___ mes parents.
5 / 5Les assiettes sont ___ le placard.
Frequently asked questions
What does chez mean in French?
Chez + a person means at (or to) that person’s home: chez moi = "at my place", chez Marie = "at Marie’s". With a profession it means the practice or shop: chez le médecin, chez le coiffeur. No single English word covers it.
What is the difference between dans and en in French?
For a physical location with an article, use dans: dans la boîte, dans le train. En appears in fixed article-less phrases (en ville, en classe) and before most country names — en France is covered on prepositions with countries.
Why does à côté de become à côté du or à côté des?
Because the final de of à côté de contracts with the definite article like every de in French — the same rule applies to every compound place preposition. The full contraction paradigm is on definite articles.
How do you say "in front of" in French?
Devant, with only the article and noun after it: devant la gare. Its opposite is derrière (behind). Neither takes de — "devant de la gare" is wrong.
Memory tip
The de test: if the preposition ends in de, look at the next word. Le → du, les → des; la and l’ stay put. No de at the end? Then nothing changes at all.
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