{"id":24317,"date":"2016-08-22T21:21:35","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T19:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=24317"},"modified":"2018-02-28T11:08:50","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T10:08:50","slug":"french-compound-prepositions-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-compound-prepositions-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"French Compound Prepositions: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

In previous posts, the French team has explored different kinds of French prepositions, including a basic overview of prepositions<\/a> and proper preposition use\u00a0with different countries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prepositions (pr\u00e9positions<\/em>)\u00a0are words or groups of words that show a relationship between one thing and another in a sentence. For example, a preposition might link the location of one object to another (the cat is on<\/strong> the table;\u00a0le chat est\u00a0sur<\/strong> la table<\/em>) or link the time of one event to another event (She arrived after<\/strong> him;\u00a0elle est arrive\u00e9 apr\u00e8s<\/strong> lui<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Compound prepositions are prepositions that use more than one word. Many compound prepositions are used in French to describe relative physical positions. Here is a list of the most commonly used of these compound prepositions in French:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00e0 cot\u00e9 de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>next to<\/p>\n

\u00e0 l’arri\u00e8re de\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 behind<\/p>\n

\u00e0 travers \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>through<\/p>\n

au-del\u00e0 de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>beyond<\/p>\n

au milieu de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>in the middle of<\/p>\n

au fond de \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>in the back of<\/p>\n

au coin de \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em> at the corner of<\/p>\n

au dessus de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>above<\/p>\n

en bas de \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>at the bottom of; below<\/p>\n

en dehors de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>outside<\/p>\n

en dessous de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>under<\/p>\n

en face de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>across from<\/p>\n

en haut de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>at the top of<\/p>\n

loin de \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>far from<\/p>\n

pr\u00e8s de \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>near<\/p>\n

These compound prepositions showing relative physical positions can be used in their transitive form, in which an object follows the preposition. For example:\u00a0La maison est \u00e0 cot\u00e9 de la mer.\u00a0<\/em>(The house is right next to the sea.) Please note that with these compound prepositions the\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>should change in response to the gender of the noun following it. If the noun is feminine, as in the above example (la mer<\/em>) the\u00a0de<\/em> does not change. If, however, the noun is masculine (like, for example, in\u00a0le restaurant<\/em>) then the\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>becomes\u00a0du.<\/em><\/p>\n

You can also use these prepositions in their intransitive form. For example, it’s the next house\/c’est la maison \u00e0 cot\u00e9.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Next week, we will go over some more compound prepositions that situate time and\/or knowledge instead of place.<\/p>\n

Can you think of any more compound prepositions that express relative positions?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In previous posts, the French team has explored different kinds of French prepositions, including a basic overview of prepositions and proper preposition use\u00a0with different countries.   Prepositions (pr\u00e9positions)\u00a0are words or groups of words that show a relationship between one thing and another in a sentence. For example, a preposition might link the location of one…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[408472,125,408473],"class_list":["post-24317","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-compound-prepositions","tag-prepositions","tag-relative-location"],"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