{"id":22485,"date":"2015-09-24T23:54:56","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T21:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=22485"},"modified":"2017-10-23T16:48:09","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T14:48:09","slug":"drill-this-dans-vos-tetes-confusing-pairs-dans-vs-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/drill-this-dans-vos-tetes-confusing-pairs-dans-vs-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Drill This Dans Vos T\u00eates! Confusing Pairs: Dans vs. En"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, I discussed the confusing pair<\/a> of c’est<\/strong> and il est<\/strong>; both mean the same thing in English, but their usage in French depends on what words you have around them. Today we’re going to look at another noninterchangeable pair that’s confusing for English speakers – and trust me, I would know. I confused these two for a long time. In reality, though, the differences are quite easy once you learn them!<\/p>\n

Our little English word “in” can have so many French translations depending on the context (dans<\/strong>, en<\/strong>, \u00e0<\/strong>, dedans<\/strong>, \u00e0 l’int\u00e9rieur<\/strong>, dans le vent<\/a><\/strong>, \u00e0 la mode<\/strong>, l\u00e0<\/strong>, bon<\/strong> and many more, I’m sure…), but today we’re going to focus on only two: dans<\/strong> and en<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Dans<\/strong> and en<\/strong> are the most common ways in French to say “in,” and both can express time and location. Below we’ll look at each preposition separately.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Dans<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

1) When used to express time, dans<\/strong> is used to show the amount before an action will occur.
\nLittle hint: dans<\/strong> is often used in the present or future tenses!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Je vais en Espagne dans 5 semaines.
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I’m going to Spain in 5 weeks.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>At the end of the 5 weeks, I will be going to Spain<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2) When used to express a location before an article and a noun.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Marie a trouv\u00e9 la bague de sa grand-m\u00e8re dans le tiroir.
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Marie found her grandmother’s ring in the drawer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3) When used to express something happening during a decade.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Le jazz \u00e9tait populaire dans les ann\u00e9es vingts.
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jazz was popular in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

En<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

1) When used to express time, en is used to show the amount of time an action takes.
\nLittle hint: en<\/strong> is often used in the present or past tenses!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Marc a appris \u00e0 cuisiner en un an.
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Marc learned to cook in 1 year.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>At the end of the 1 year, Marc had learned to cook.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2) When used to express a “in” or “to” before a noun that doesn’t need an article.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Sandrine est en prison.
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sandrine is in prison.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3) When used to say which month, year, or season you’re in. An exception to this is with spring – here, you say “au printemps<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Je suis n\u00e9 en septembre.
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was born in September.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4) When using\u00a0a gerund (quoi??\u00a0<\/strong>a word derived from a verb but used as a noun. Swimming, for example – Swimming is my favorite summer activity), en<\/strong> is almost always attached.<\/p>\n

En attendant, j’ai lu 15 pages<\/strong>.
\nWhile waiting, I read 15 pages.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Another difference between the 2 is their usage to say which state\/province you’re in or going to. I wrote about this a few weeks ago, and you can read that post here<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Last week, I discussed the confusing pair of c’est and il est; both mean the same thing in English, but their usage in French depends on what words you have around them. Today we’re going to look at another noninterchangeable pair that’s confusing for English speakers – and trust me, I would know. I confused…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":22487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[359212,3171,2419],"class_list":["post-22485","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-dans","tag-en","tag-preposition"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t