Monday, January 6, 2020
Using the French Prepositions En and Dans
In French, the prepositions en and dans both mean in, and they both express time and location. They are not, however, interchangeable.à Their usage depends on both meaning and grammar. How French Prepositions Work In French, prepositionsà are generally words thatà link two related parts of a sentence. They are usually placed in front of nouns or pronounsà to indicate a relationship between thatà noun or pronoun and a verb, adjectiveà or noun that precedes it. Im talking to Jean.Je parleà à à Jean.She is from Paris.Elle està deà Paris.The book is for you.à Le livre està pourà toi. These small but powerfulà words not only show relationships between words, they also refine the meanings of place (cities, countries, islands, regions, and U.S. states) and time (as withà pendantà andà durant); can follow adjectives and link them to the remainder of a sentence; canà neverà end a sentence (as they can in English); can be difficult to translate into English and idiomatic; and can exist as a prepositional phrase, such asà au-dessus deà (above),à au-dessous de (below),à andà au milieu de (in the middle of). Some prepositions are also used after certain verbs to complete their meaning, such asà croire enà (to believe in),à parler à à (to talk to) andà parler deà (to talk about).à Plus, prepositional phrases can be replaced by the adverbial pronounsà yà andà en. The following guidelines and examples delineate how and when to use two of the trickier French prepositions:à en and dans. Notice how they link two related parts of each sentence.à Examples of Whenà to Use En in French En expresses the length of time an action happens. As a result, the verb is usually in the present or past tense, as in Je peux faire le lit en cinq minutes.I can make the bed in five minutes.Il a lu le livre en une heure.à He read the book in an hour.Jai appris à danser en un an.à I learned how to dance in a year. Enà expresses when an action happens as it relates to the calendar: month, season, or year. Exception: au printemps. Nous voyageons en Avril. We travel in April.Il arrivera en hiver.à He will arrive in the winter. Enà can mean in or to when followed directly by a noun that doesnt need an article: Vous allez en prison!à Youre going to prison!à Il est en classe.à Hes in school. Enà can also meanà in or to when used with someà states, provinces, and countries, such as Jhabite en Californie.I live in California.Je vais en France. Im going to France. Examples of When to Use Dans Dansà indicates the amount of time before action will occur. Note that the verb is usually in the present or future, as in Nous partons dans dix minutes.Were leaving in 10 minutes.à Il reviendra dans une heure.Hell be back in an hour.à Elle va commencer dans une semaine. Shes going to start in a week. Dansà refers to something that occurs within or during a decade, as in Dans les annà ©es soixantes...In the sixties...Dans les annà ©es quatre-vingts...During the eighties... Dansà means in a location when followed by an article plus noun, such as Il est dans la maison.Hes in the house.à Quest-ce qui est dans la boà ®te? Whats in the box? Dansà also means in or to with someà states and provinces: Jhabite dans le Maine.I live in Maine.Je vais dans lOntario. ï » ¿Im going to Ontario.
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