What's the difference between à and de in French?

À points forward at a destination, a recipient or a purpose: je vais à Nice, donne-le à Paul, une tasse à café. De points back at an origin, an owner or a content: je viens de Nice, le sac de Paul, une tasse de café.

How do I know whether a verb takes à or de before an infinitive?

It has to be learnt verb by verb. Commencer à, apprendre à, réussir à and aider à take à; finir de, essayer de, décider de and oublier de take de; vouloir, pouvoir, devoir and aller take nothing. Grouping them by meaning helps a little, but there is no reliable rule.

Why is it une tasse à café and une tasse de café?

À gives the purpose, de gives the content. Une tasse à café is a coffee cup, empty or not; une tasse de café is a cupful of coffee. The same pattern gives un verre à vin and un verre de vin.

When do I use en instead of à?

For countries with a feminine name and for continents: en France, en Asie, but à Paris for cities. For transport, en means inside the vehicle (en voiture, en train) and à means on top of it or under your own power (à pied, à vélo).

Can à and de appear in the same sentence?

Constantly, especially with verbs of communication: j'ai parlé à mon patron de mes vacances, I spoke to my boss about my holiday. The person takes à and the subject matter takes de, and the two do not compete.

French grammar · Intermediate

À vs. De in French: Which Preposition Does Your Sentence Need?

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

À points forward at a destination, a recipient or a purpose; de points back at an origin, an owner or a content. The pair runs through the whole language, from je vais à Paris and je viens de Paris to commencer à and finir de.

Ce train va à Marseille ; il vient de Lille.

This train is going to Marseille; it comes from Lille.

What it is

Almost every use of these two prepositions comes down to direction. À sends the sentence towards something: a place you are heading for, a person receiving something, the purpose an object serves. De brings it back from something: where you started, who owns it, what it is made of or full of.

Je parle à ma sœur de mon nouveau travail. — I'm talking to my sister about my new job.

How to spot it

Test the English. To, at, in and for usually mean à. From, of, about and made of usually mean de.

aller à la banque — to go to the bank (destination)
revenir de la banque — to come back from the bank (origin)
la clé de la voiture — the car key (possession)
un verre à vin — a wine glass (purpose)

Both contract with the definite article: à + le = au, à + les = aux, de + le = du, de + les = des. Writing à le or de le is always an error.

À vs. De Quick Reference

The two directions side by side

Idea	Preposition	Example
Destination	à	Je vais à Bordeaux. — I'm going to Bordeaux.
Origin	de	Je viens de Bordeaux. — I'm from Bordeaux.
Recipient	à	Donne-le à Marc. — Give it to Marc.
Topic of speech	de	Il parle de son voyage. — He's talking about his trip.
Purpose of an object	à	une machine à laver — a washing machine
Content of a container	de	une tasse de café — a cup of coffee
Possession	de	le vélo de mon frère — my brother's bike
Time on the clock	à	à dix heures — at ten o'clock

Common À vs. De Examples in French

The contrast at work in four different structures:

Coming and Going

Nous allons au marché.: We're going to the market.
Elle rentre du bureau à sept heures.: She gets back from the office at seven.
Le vol de Lyon arrive à midi.: The flight from Lyon lands at noon.
Il y a un train direct de Nantes à Rennes.: There's a direct train from Nantes to Rennes.

De… à together give a span, in space or in time: du lundi au vendredi, de huit heures à midi.

People: To Whom, About What

J'ai écrit à mes parents.: I wrote to my parents.
Il m'a parlé de ses projets.: He told me about his plans.
Elle a demandé de l'aide à son voisin.: She asked her neighbour for help.
Ne dis rien à personne de cette histoire.: Don't say anything to anyone about this business.

Parler à is who you speak to, parler de is what you speak about, and both can appear in the same sentence.

Objects: Purpose or Content

une cuillère à soupe: a soup spoon (a spoon for soup)
une cuillère de soupe: a spoonful of soup
une boîte aux lettres: a letterbox
une boîte de chocolats: a box of chocolates

This is the clearest place to feel the difference: à tells you what the object is for, de tells you what is inside it.

Verbs Before an Infinitive

J'ai commencé à comprendre.: I've started to understand.
Il a fini de manger.: He's finished eating.
Elle apprend à conduire.: She's learning to drive.
Nous avons décidé de rester.: We've decided to stay.

The verb chooses the preposition, and the choice has to be learnt with the verb. There is no rule that predicts it reliably.

How to Decide Between À and De

Five questions, in the order that resolves the most cases fastest.

Which Way Does the Sentence Point?

This handles all the concrete uses. Movement towards, a recipient, a target, a time you arrive at: à. Movement away, a source, an owner, a cause: de. Everything else is a metaphorical extension of the same two directions.

Elle est partie de Paris pour aller à Genève.

She left Paris to go to Geneva.

Towards → à. Away from → de.

Possession Is Always De

French has no apostrophe s, so ownership is expressed by de plus the owner, in the reverse order from English. The car of my brother becomes le vélo de mon frère.

C'est le sac de ma collègue.

It's my colleague's bag.

Owned thing + de + owner.

Purpose Is À, Content Is De

Between two nouns, à says the first exists for the second, and de says the first contains or comes from the second. Une tasse à café is an empty cup meant for coffee; une tasse de café has coffee in it.

Passe-moi un verre à eau, je vais boire un verre d'eau.

Pass me a water glass, I'm going to drink a glass of water.

à = for. de = of.

The Verb Decides Before an Infinitive

Commencer, apprendre, réussir, aider, arriver and hésiter take à. Finir, essayer, décider, oublier, refuser and arrêter take de. A third group, including vouloir, pouvoir, devoir and aller, takes no preposition at all.

J'essaie de finir avant midi, mais je n'arrive pas à me concentrer.

I'm trying to finish before noon, but I can't concentrate.

Learn the verb with its preposition.

Contract Without Exception

À and de merge with le and les. This is mechanical, it happens in every register, and it is one of the few French rules with no exceptions at all.

Je reviens du cinéma et je vais au restaurant.

I'm coming back from the cinema and going to the restaurant.

au, aux, du, des.

Common Mistakes with À vs. De

Incorrect: Je vais à le cinéma. — I'm going to the cinema.

Correct: Je vais au cinéma. — I'm going to the cinema.

À and le must contract to au. The same applies to à les, which becomes aux, and to de le and de les, which become du and des.

Incorrect: C'est la voiture à mon frère. — It's my brother's car.

Correct: C'est la voiture de mon frère. — It's my brother's car.

Possession is expressed with de. The version with à exists in very casual speech but is considered incorrect in writing and in exams.

Incorrect: J'ai commencé de travailler à huit heures. — I started working at eight.

Correct: J'ai commencé à travailler à huit heures. — I started working at eight.

Commencer takes à before an infinitive, while its opposite finir takes de. The two verbs are learnt together and their prepositions do not match.

Incorrect: Je joue de la guitare et au piano. — I play the guitar and the piano.

Correct: Je joue de la guitare et du piano. — I play the guitar and the piano.

Instruments take jouer de, so the piano needs du. Jouer à is reserved for games and sports: jouer au foot, jouer aux cartes.

The Three Places It Gets Difficult

Verb complements, noun pairs and the overlap with en account for nearly every remaining hesitation.

Verbs whose meaning changes with the preposition

A small group of frequent verbs takes both prepositions with two different meanings, so the choice is not stylistic but lexical.

Je pense à mon frère.: I'm thinking about my brother.
Que penses-tu de ce film ?: What do you think of this film?
Elle joue au tennis.: She plays tennis.
Elle joue du violon.: She plays the violin.

Jouer à is for games and sports, jouer de is for instruments. Penser à is to have in mind, penser de is to have an opinion.

Verbs that need both objects

Several verbs of communication and transfer take a person with à and a thing with de, so both prepositions appear in the same clause.

Il a parlé à son patron de son augmentation.: He spoke to his boss about his pay rise.
Elle a remercié son ami de son aide.: She thanked her friend for his help.
J'ai demandé à ma voisine de m'aider.: I asked my neighbour to help me.
On a promis à nos enfants de partir en vacances.: We promised our children we'd go away.

Note the order: the person usually comes first, then the thing. Demander à quelqu'un de faire quelque chose is the pattern behind most polite requests.

When en takes over from à

With places, à is for cities and en for feminine countries and continents. With transport, en is for vehicles you sit inside and à for those you sit on.

J'habite à Lille, en France.: I live in Lille, in France.
Nous y allons en voiture.: We're going by car.
Il vient à vélo tous les jours.: He comes by bike every day.
Elle rentre à pied.: She's walking home.

En train, en avion, en bus, but à pied, à vélo, à moto, à cheval. The dividing line is whether you are enclosed by the vehicle.

À vs. De FAQs

What's the difference between à and de in French?: À points forward at a destination, a recipient or a purpose: je vais à Nice, donne-le à Paul, une tasse à café. De points back at an origin, an owner or a content: je viens de Nice, le sac de Paul, une tasse de café.
How do I know whether a verb takes à or de before an infinitive?: It has to be learnt verb by verb. Commencer à, apprendre à, réussir à and aider à take à; finir de, essayer de, décider de and oublier de take de; vouloir, pouvoir, devoir and aller take nothing. Grouping them by meaning helps a little, but there is no reliable rule.
Why is it une tasse à café and une tasse de café?: À gives the purpose, de gives the content. Une tasse à café is a coffee cup, empty or not; une tasse de café is a cupful of coffee. The same pattern gives un verre à vin and un verre de vin.
When do I use en instead of à?: For countries with a feminine name and for continents: en France, en Asie, but à Paris for cities. For transport, en means inside the vehicle (en voiture, en train) and à means on top of it or under your own power (à pied, à vélo).
Can à and de appear in the same sentence?: Constantly, especially with verbs of communication: j'ai parlé à mon patron de mes vacances, I spoke to my boss about my holiday. The person takes à and the subject matter takes de, and the two do not compete.