What are the most common French prepositions of place?

Sur (on), sous (under), dans (in), devant (in front of), derrière (behind), entre (between), à côté de (next to), près de (near), en face de (opposite), and loin de (far from). Those ten cover most everyday descriptions of where things are.

Why do some prepositions of place end in de?

Because they are compound: they were built from a noun or adverb plus de, as in à côté de, literally at the side of. That de is part of the preposition, so it never disappears, and it contracts with le and les to give du and des.

When do I use sur and when do I use dans?

Sur needs a surface to rest on and dans needs a space with an inside. Sur la table, dans le tiroir. A few cases follow French logic rather than English: sur la photo for in the photo, and dans le train for on the train.

How do I say in with cities and countries?

Cities take à: à Paris, à Lyon. Feminine countries take en: en France. Masculine countries take au: au Canada. Plural countries take aux: aux États-Unis. The same preposition serves for both being there and going there.

What's the difference between sous and au-dessous de?

Sous usually means directly underneath, often touching: sous la table. Au-dessous de, and its more colloquial twin en dessous de, mean at a lower level with space in between, such as the flat au-dessous du nôtre, the flat below ours.

French grammar · Beginner

French Prepositions of Place: Sur, Sous, Devant, À Côté De

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

Prepositions of place tell you where something is: sur, sous, dans, devant, derrière, entre, à côté de, en face de. They fall into two families, the short ones that attach straight to a noun and the compound ones ending in de, and the second family is where nearly all the errors happen.

Le chat dort sous la table, à côté du radiateur.

The cat is asleep under the table, next to the radiator.

What it is

A preposition of place locates one thing relative to another. French has a handful of one-word prepositions that sit directly in front of the noun, and a larger set of compound ones built on de, which means the article that follows has to contract. Getting the contraction right matters more than memorising the list, because the list is short and the contraction comes up in every sentence.

La clé est sur la table. — The key is on the table.

How to spot it

Look at the last word of the preposition. If it ends in de, expect du, de la, de l', or des next. If it does not, the article stays as it is.

devant la gare — in front of the station (no de)
en face de la gare — opposite the station (de + la)
en face du musée — opposite the museum (de + le becomes du)
en face des jardins — opposite the gardens (de + les becomes des)

English is no guide here: in front of has an of but devant does not, while next to has no of but à côté de does.

Prepositions of Place Quick Reference

The prepositions of place you need first

French	English	Example	English example
sur	on, on top of	sur le bureau	on the desk
sous	under	sous le lit	under the bed
dans	in, inside	dans le tiroir	in the drawer
devant	in front of	devant l'immeuble	in front of the building
derrière	behind	derrière la porte	behind the door
entre	between	entre les deux fenêtres	between the two windows
à côté de	next to	à côté de la banque	next to the bank
en face de	opposite, across from	en face du parc	opposite the park

Common Prepositions of Place Examples in French

The same room described with each family of preposition:

One-Word Prepositions

Les livres sont sur l'étagère.: The books are on the shelf.
Le chien s'est caché sous le canapé.: The dog hid under the sofa.
Mets ton manteau dans l'armoire.: Put your coat in the wardrobe.
Il y a un vélo devant la maison.: There's a bike in front of the house.

These take the article directly, with no de: devant la maison, derrière le mur, sous la table.

Compound Prepositions with De

La pharmacie est à côté du cinéma.: The chemist's is next to the cinema.
Nous habitons près de la rivière.: We live near the river.
L'arrêt est en face de l'école.: The stop is opposite the school.
Le village est loin des grandes routes.: The village is far from the main roads.

De plus le gives du, de plus les gives des, and de plus a vowel gives de l'. Nothing in this family escapes the contraction.

Above, Below, Around

Une lampe pend au-dessus de la table.: A lamp hangs above the table.
Le parking se trouve au-dessous du bâtiment.: The car park is below the building.
Ils ont planté des fleurs autour de la fontaine.: They planted flowers around the fountain.
Le chemin passe le long de la voie ferrée.: The path runs along the railway line.

Au-dessus de means above with a gap; sur means resting on the surface.

Towns, Countries, People's Homes

Elle travaille à Lyon.: She works in Lyon.
Ils vivent en Belgique.: They live in Belgium.
Nous passons le week-end au Portugal.: We're spending the weekend in Portugal.
On se retrouve chez Camille.: We're meeting at Camille's.

Place names have their own preposition rules: à for cities, en or au for countries by gender, chez for someone's home.

How Prepositions of Place Work

Five points cover the choices that come up constantly, starting with the one that produces the most errors.

Compound Prepositions End in De, and De Contracts

À côté de, près de, loin de, en face de, au-dessus de, autour de, au bord de, au milieu de: every one of them merges with the following article. De plus le gives du, de plus les gives des, and before a vowel or mute h you get de l'.

L'hôtel est au bord du lac, près des vignes.

The hotel is on the edge of the lake, near the vineyards.

de + le = du, de + les = des.

Devant, Derrière, Sur, Sous, and Dans Take No De

These five are complete on their own, so nothing goes between them and the article. Devant de la porte and sous de la table are ungrammatical, however natural in front of and underneath make them sound to an English ear.

Il attend devant la porte, derrière les autres.

He's waiting in front of the door, behind the others.

No de after devant, derrière, sur, sous, dans.

Sur Is a Surface, Dans Is an Enclosure

Sur needs something to rest on, dans needs something with an inside. The split shows up in places English handles differently: sur la photo for in the photo, and dans le journal for in the paper, because a photograph is a surface and a newspaper is a container of pages.

J'ai lu l'article dans le journal et je suis sur la photo.

I read the article in the paper, and I'm in the photo.

Flat surface → sur, hollow space → dans.

Entre Separates Two Things, Parmi Sits Inside a Group

Entre is for two identifiable reference points, one on each side. Parmi places something inside a larger, less countable set. Entre les deux arbres names both trees; parmi les arbres just means somewhere in the trees.

Le banc est entre les deux arbres, parmi les fleurs sauvages.

The bench is between the two trees, among the wild flowers.

Two landmarks → entre, a crowd → parmi.

French Uses the Same Preposition for Being There and Going There

Where English switches from in to to, French usually keeps one preposition and lets the verb carry the movement. Je suis à Lyon and je vais à Lyon use the same à; je suis dans le jardin and j'entre dans le jardin use the same dans.

Elle est en Italie et elle retourne en Italie en mai.

She's in Italy, and she's going back to Italy in May.

The verb shows motion, not the preposition.

Common Mistakes with Prepositions of Place

Incorrect: Il y a une voiture devant de la maison. — There's a car in front of the house.

Correct: Il y a une voiture devant la maison. — There's a car in front of the house.

The of in in front of has no counterpart in French. Devant is already complete, so the article follows it directly. The same applies to derrière, sur, sous, and dans.

Incorrect: La banque est à côté le musée. — The bank is next to the museum.

Correct: La banque est à côté du musée. — The bank is next to the museum.

À côté de cannot lose its de, and de plus le contracts to du. Dropping the de here is the mirror image of adding one after devant.

Incorrect: Ma sœur est dans la photo. — My sister is in the photo.

Correct: Ma sœur est sur la photo. — My sister is in the photo.

A photograph is treated as a surface in French, so people and things appear sur la photo. Dans would suggest they are physically inside the piece of paper.

Incorrect: J'ai trouvé mon nom entre les cent candidats. — I found my name among the hundred candidates.

Correct: J'ai trouvé mon nom parmi les cent candidats. — I found my name among the hundred candidates.

Entre needs exactly two reference points, one on either side. With a large group you need parmi, which places you inside the set rather than between its edges.

Compound Prepositions in Practice

Three things worth knowing once the basic list is in place: the full compound set, what happens when the second noun disappears, and how the vertical prepositions divide up.

The compound prepositions of place

All of these end in de and therefore contract with a following le or les.

à côté du garage: next to the garage
près des commerces: near the shops
au milieu de la cour: in the middle of the courtyard
au bord de la mer: at the seaside

Loin de, autour de, le long de, au-dessus de, and au-dessous de belong to the same family and behave identically.

When the second noun is dropped

If the reference point is obvious, the de and its noun disappear and the phrase becomes an adverb.

La boulangerie est juste à côté.: The bakery is right next door.
Il habite tout près.: He lives very close by.
Le parc est en face.: The park is opposite.
Les enfants jouaient autour.: The children were playing around it.

There is no de left to contract in these, because there is no noun for it to introduce.

Above and below

Sur and sous mean touching; au-dessus de and au-dessous de mean higher or lower with a gap between.

Le tableau est au-dessus de la cheminée.: The painting is above the fireplace.
Le vase est sur la cheminée.: The vase is on the fireplace.
Les valises sont au-dessous du lit.: The suitcases are underneath the bed.
Le chat s'est glissé sous le lit.: The cat slipped under the bed.

In speech, en dessous de is far more common than au-dessous de, and means the same thing.

Prepositions of Place FAQs

What are the most common French prepositions of place?: Sur (on), sous (under), dans (in), devant (in front of), derrière (behind), entre (between), à côté de (next to), près de (near), en face de (opposite), and loin de (far from). Those ten cover most everyday descriptions of where things are.
Why do some prepositions of place end in de?: Because they are compound: they were built from a noun or adverb plus de, as in à côté de, literally at the side of. That de is part of the preposition, so it never disappears, and it contracts with le and les to give du and des.
When do I use sur and when do I use dans?: Sur needs a surface to rest on and dans needs a space with an inside. Sur la table, dans le tiroir. A few cases follow French logic rather than English: sur la photo for in the photo, and dans le train for on the train.
How do I say in with cities and countries?: Cities take à: à Paris, à Lyon. Feminine countries take en: en France. Masculine countries take au: au Canada. Plural countries take aux: aux États-Unis. The same preposition serves for both being there and going there.
What's the difference between sous and au-dessous de?: Sous usually means directly underneath, often touching: sous la table. Au-dessous de, and its more colloquial twin en dessous de, mean at a lower level with space in between, such as the flat au-dessous du nôtre, the flat below ours.