What is a prepositional phrase in French?

It's a preposition made of several words, usually a noun or an adverb plus de or à: à côté de, en face de, au milieu de, grâce à, par rapport à. They fill gaps the single-word prepositions leave, and the final de or à is what links the phrase to the noun that follows.

Why is it à côté du parc and not à côté de le parc?

Because de and le are required to contract into du everywhere in French, including at the end of a compound preposition. The same applies to de + les → des, à + le → au, and à + les → aux, so you get en face des magasins and grâce aux voisins.

What's the difference between à cause de and grâce à?

They both mean because of, but they carry opposite attitudes. À cause de introduces something you regret: le retard à cause de la grève. Grâce à introduces something you're grateful for: on a gagné grâce à elle. Using à cause de for a good outcome sounds sarcastic.

Do I say avant or avant de?

Avant goes in front of a noun or a time expression — avant le dîner, avant huit heures. Avant de goes in front of an infinitive — avant de dîner, avant de partir. If the following clause has its own subject, you need avant que plus the subjunctive: avant qu'il parte.

Can I drop the de at the end of these phrases?

Only when there's no noun left to attach. En face de la poste shortens to en face when the poste is already understood: c'est juste en face. The same works for à côté, au-dessus, and au milieu, all of which become plain adverbs once the second noun disappears.

French grammar · Intermediate

French Prepositional Phrases: À Côté De, En Face De, and How They Contract

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

A French prepositional phrase is a multi-word preposition: à côté de, en face de, au lieu de, grâce à, par rapport à. Nearly all of them end in de or à, and that final word is what contracts with the article that follows, giving à côté du parc and grâce aux voisins.

La boulangerie est en face de la mairie, à côté du parc.

The bakery is opposite the town hall, next to the park.

What it is

French runs out of single-word prepositions quickly, so it builds compound ones out of a noun or an adverb plus de or à. En face means facing, and en face de means opposite something. The de is not decoration: it is the hinge that attaches the phrase to whatever comes next, and it has to be there.

Il habite près de la gare, en face du café, à côté de la pharmacie. — He lives near the station, opposite the café, next to the chemist's.

How to spot it

Look at the last word of the phrase. If it's de, expect du, de la, de l', or des in front of the noun. If it's à, expect au, à la, à l', or aux.

à côté du musée — next to the museum (de + le → du)
en face des enfants — opposite the children (de + les → des)
grâce au professeur — thanks to the teacher (à + le → au)
par rapport aux autres — compared with the others (à + les → aux)

The contraction is obligatory. À côté de le musée is not a slightly awkward version of the phrase; it is simply not French.

Prepositional Phrases Quick Reference

The prepositional phrases you'll meet most often

Phrase	Meaning	Example
à côté de	next to	à côté de la banque — next to the bank
en face de	opposite, facing	en face du théâtre — opposite the theatre
près de / loin de	near / far from	loin de chez moi — far from my place
au milieu de	in the middle of	au milieu de la nuit — in the middle of the night
à cause de	because of (negative)	à cause du bruit — because of the noise
grâce à	thanks to (positive)	grâce à ton aide — thanks to your help
au lieu de	instead of	au lieu du train — instead of the train
par rapport à	compared with, regarding	par rapport à l'an dernier — compared with last year

Common Prepositional Phrases Examples in French

Prepositional phrases sorted by what they express:

Position in Space

Le chat dort au pied du lit.: The cat is sleeping at the foot of the bed.
Il y a une lampe au-dessus de la table.: There's a lamp above the table.
Les clés sont au fond du sac.: The keys are at the bottom of the bag.
On s'est retrouvés autour du feu.: We gathered around the fire.

Au-dessus de and au-dessous de differ by one letter and are easy to mix up in writing; in speech the vowels are clearly distinct.

Cause and Consequence

Le vol a été annulé à cause de la neige.: The flight was cancelled because of the snow.
Grâce à elle, tout s'est bien passé.: Thanks to her, everything went well.
En raison des travaux, la rue est fermée.: Owing to the roadworks, the street is closed.
Il a démissionné à la suite du scandale.: He resigned following the scandal.

À cause de blames, grâce à credits. Using à cause de for something good sounds oddly grudging.

Comparison and Reference

Par rapport à l'année dernière, c'est mieux.: Compared with last year, it's better.
Au lieu de se plaindre, il a agi.: Instead of complaining, he acted.
D'après le journal, la grève continue.: According to the paper, the strike is continuing.
Quant à moi, je reste ici.: As for me, I'm staying here.

Quant à is followed by a stressed pronoun: quant à moi, quant à eux.

Time and Purpose

Lave-toi les mains avant de manger.: Wash your hands before eating.
Il a couru jusqu'à la fin.: He ran until the end.
Elle a économisé afin de partir.: She saved up in order to leave.
Au cours de la réunion, rien n'a été décidé.: During the meeting, nothing was decided.

Avant de and afin de only ever introduce a verb; before a noun you need avant and afin que respectively.

How Prepositional Phrases Are Built

Four structural facts cover the whole family, including phrases you meet for the first time.

The Final De or À Contracts

The last element of the phrase behaves exactly like a bare preposition. De merges with le and les to give du and des; à merges with them to give au and aux. Nothing about the phrase being long exempts it from the rule.

Le parking est en face des bureaux.

The car park is opposite the offices.

The phrase ends in de or à, so contract as usual.

Chez Takes Over for People's Homes

Près de moi means near me, the person. To say near where I live, French inserts chez: près de chez moi. The same slot works for à côté de chez lui and loin de chez eux, and it's preferred over près de ma maison.

Ils habitent tout près de chez nous.

They live very close to our place.

près de chez, loin de chez, à côté de chez.

The Same Word Can Be an Adverb Without De

Many of these phrases have a shorter adverbial twin used when the second noun is already understood. En face de la poste becomes just en face, and à côté de la porte becomes à côté. The de disappears with the noun.

La pharmacie ? C'est juste en face.

The chemist's ? It's just opposite.

No noun following → no de.

Some Phrases Take an Infinitive, Others a Clause

Phrases ending in de introduce an infinitive directly: avant de partir, au lieu de partir, afin de partir. To introduce a clause with its own subject you swap in the que form: avant qu'il parte, afin qu'il parte.

Réfléchis avant de répondre.

Think before you answer.

Same subject → de + infinitive. Different subject → que + clause.

Common Mistakes with Prepositional Phrases

Incorrect: Le café est à côté de le cinéma. — The café is next to the cinema.

Correct: Le café est à côté du cinéma. — The café is next to the cinema.

The de that ends the phrase contracts with le exactly like any other de. The length of the phrase changes nothing.

Incorrect: Ma maison est en face la gare. — My house is opposite the station.

Correct: Ma maison est en face de la gare. — My house is opposite the station.

En face on its own is an adverb. As soon as you name what you're facing, the de is compulsory to link the two.

Incorrect: Lave-toi les mains avant manger. — Wash your hands before eating.

Correct: Lave-toi les mains avant de manger. — Wash your hands before eating.

Avant introduces a noun; avant de introduces a verb. English uses before for both, so the de is easy to lose.

Incorrect: J'ai réussi à cause de ton aide. — I succeeded thanks to your help.

Correct: J'ai réussi grâce à ton aide. — I succeeded thanks to your help.

À cause de carries a note of blame. For a cause you're pleased about, French uses grâce à, and the two are not interchangeable.

Prepositional Phrases in Front of a Verb

This is where English and French diverge most sharply, because English uses -ing and French uses the infinitive.

De phrases plus the infinitive

Avant de, au lieu de, afin de, en train de, and de peur de all attach straight to an infinitive with nothing in between.

Il est parti sans rien dire, au lieu de s'expliquer.: He left without a word instead of explaining himself.
Elle est en train de préparer le dîner.: She's in the middle of making dinner.
Nous avons couru de peur de rater le train.: We ran for fear of missing the train.
Ferme la fenêtre avant de sortir.: Close the window before going out.

There is no French equivalent of before going as a two-word unit: the preposition and the infinitive do all the work.

The que versions for a second subject

When the two halves of the sentence have different subjects, the infinitive is impossible and you switch to a full clause.

Je pars avant qu'il arrive.: I'm leaving before he arrives.
Explique-lui, afin qu'elle comprenne.: Explain it to her so that she understands.
Je le fais pendant que tu dors.: I'm doing it while you sleep.

Avant que and afin que trigger the subjunctive; pendant que and parce que do not.

Phrases that only take a noun

À cause de, grâce à, par rapport à, and d'après never introduce a verb. Put a noun or a pronoun after them.

On est rentrés à cause de la pluie.: We went home because of the rain.
Grâce à toi, j'ai compris.: Thanks to you, I understood.
D'après lui, c'est trop cher.: According to him, it's too expensive.

To attach a verb to a cause you need parce que instead: on est rentrés parce qu'il pleuvait.

Prepositional Phrases FAQs

What is a prepositional phrase in French?: It's a preposition made of several words, usually a noun or an adverb plus de or à: à côté de, en face de, au milieu de, grâce à, par rapport à. They fill gaps the single-word prepositions leave, and the final de or à is what links the phrase to the noun that follows.
Why is it à côté du parc and not à côté de le parc?: Because de and le are required to contract into du everywhere in French, including at the end of a compound preposition. The same applies to de + les → des, à + le → au, and à + les → aux, so you get en face des magasins and grâce aux voisins.
What's the difference between à cause de and grâce à?: They both mean because of, but they carry opposite attitudes. À cause de introduces something you regret: le retard à cause de la grève. Grâce à introduces something you're grateful for: on a gagné grâce à elle. Using à cause de for a good outcome sounds sarcastic.
Do I say avant or avant de?: Avant goes in front of a noun or a time expression — avant le dîner, avant huit heures. Avant de goes in front of an infinitive — avant de dîner, avant de partir. If the following clause has its own subject, you need avant que plus the subjunctive: avant qu'il parte.
Can I drop the de at the end of these phrases?: Only when there's no noun left to attach. En face de la poste shortens to en face when the poste is already understood: c'est juste en face. The same works for à côté, au-dessus, and au milieu, all of which become plain adverbs once the second noun disappears.