Francora · TEF & TCF Canada · Mastery level

Prepositions & Reflexives — 100 questions

100 questions Prepositions 70% · Reflexive verbs 30% Full explanation on every question 🌐 300 bilingual sentences

One job: end the à / de / en / au / du confusion for good. Seven sections, 100 questions. Five of them attack prepositions from every angle — countries and cities, the contractions, the position words that hide a de, the verbs that choose their own little word, and the ones English gets wrong. The last two lock down reflexive verbs, finishing with the case that combines both: reflexive verbs that carry their own preposition — s’occuper du dossier, s’intéresser aux langues. Every answer explains the rule you can reuse, not just the word.

0 / 100 answered

Mini-chapter — the rules this quiz tests

Seven sections, one screen each: the rule, a table, the trap, two examples. Read it, take the quiz, come back to any section that goes badly.

Little words à au · aux de du · des en chez others Verdict right wrong

The shades are a clue: au and du are the darker versions of à and de, because that is exactly what they are — à + le and de + le squeezed together.

P1 · Places P2 · Contractions P3 · à or de P4 · Before a verb P5 · Other words R1 · Reflexives R2 · Reflexive + word

P1 Places, countries and people

Rule: a town takes à. A country depends on its gender and number: feminine or starting with a vowel takes en, masculine takes au, plural takes aux. A person's place takes chez.

Decide — where you are or where you are going
What comes next	Use	Example
a town	à	Je travaille à Ottawa.I work in Ottawa.
feminine country	en	Elle habite en Belgique.She lives in Belgium.
country starting with a vowel (even a masculine one)	en	Il travaille en Iran.He works in Iran.
masculine country	au	Nous restons au Maroc.We are staying in Morocco.
plural country	aux	Ma cousine vit aux Pays-Bas.My cousin lives in the Netherlands.
a person, or their workplace	chez	Je vais chez le notaire.I am going to the notary's office.
an institution or building	à la / à l’	Il est à la clinique.He is at the clinic.

Separate — going there vs coming from there
Going / being there	Coming from there
Je vais au Canada.I am going to Canada.	Je viens du Canada.I come from Canada.
Elle est en France.She is in France.	Elle vient de France.She comes from France.
On part aux Philippines.We are leaving for the Philippines.	On revient des Philippines.We are coming back from the Philippines.

Trap

A masculine country that starts with a vowel still takes en, never au. au Iran → en Iran. The vowel wins over the gender.

Mon frère habite au Québec, mais il travaille en Ontario.

My brother lives in Quebec, but he works in Ontario.

Nous venons des Émirats et nous allons à Calgary.

We come from the Emirates and we are going to Calgary.

P2 Contractions and position words

Rule: à and de squeeze together with le and les: à + le = au, à + les = aux, de + le = du, de + les = des.
With la and l’ nothing squeezes: you keep à la, à l’, de la, de l’.

Decide — squeeze or leave it alone
What you are about to write	Comes out as	Example
à + le bureau	au	Je vais au bureau.I am going to the office.
à + les voisins	aux	Je parle aux voisins.I am talking to the neighbours.
de + le marché	du	Je reviens du marché.I am coming back from the market.
de + les magasins	des	Elle sort des magasins.She is coming out of the shops.
à + la banque	stays à la	Nous sommes à la banque.We are at the bank.
à + l’hôpital	stays à l’	Il travaille à l’hôpital.He works at the hospital.
de + la salle	stays de la	Je sors de la salle.I am leaving the room.
de + l’immeuble	stays de l’	Tu sors de l’immeuble.You are coming out of the building.

Separate — position words that end in de vs position words that end in nothing
Ends in de, so it squeezes	Ends in nothing, so add nothing
à côté du parcnext to the park	dans le parcin the park
en face des magasinsacross from the shops	devant les magasinsin front of the shops
près du métronear the metro	derrière le métrobehind the metro
loin de la garefar from the station	sous la gareunder the station
au bord du fleuveat the edge of the river	entre le fleuve et la routebetween the river and the road

Trap

Do not swap the two families. Devant takes nothing: devant de la maison → devant la maison. Près needs its de: près la gare → près de la gare.

La pharmacie est à côté du parc, devant la banque.

The pharmacy is next to the park, in front of the bank.

Nous devons passer au bureau, près de la gare.

We have to stop by the office, near the station.

P3 The verb chooses: à or de

Rule: the verb decides what comes after it, and English decides nothing. Some French verbs need à, some need de, and some take nothing exactly where English puts a small word.

Decide — what the verb demands after it
Verb	Takes	Example
téléphoner à someone	à	Je téléphone à ma sœur.I am calling my sister.
répondre à someone	à	Il répond au client.He answers the customer.
parler à someone	à	Nous parlons au directeur.We are speaking to the manager.
écrire à someone	à	Elle écrit à ses parents.She writes to her parents.
demander à someone	à	Je demande à mon voisin.I ask my neighbour.
parler de something	de	Nous parlons du contrat.We are talking about the contract.
avoir besoin de something	de	J’ai besoin du dossier.I need the file.
changer de something	de	Il change de travail.He is changing jobs.
se servir de something	de	Elle se sert du logiciel.She uses the software.
écouter	nothing	J’écoute la radio.I listen to the radio.
regarder	nothing	Je regarde les photos.I am looking at the photos.
attendre	nothing	Nous attendons le bus.We are waiting for the bus.
chercher	nothing	Il cherche un logement.He is looking for a place to live.
payer	nothing	Je paie le loyer.I pay for the rent.

Separate — same verb, two little words, two meanings
With à	With de
Je parle au collègue.I speak to the colleague — the person I address.	Je parle du collègue.I speak about the colleague — the topic.
Il joue au hockey.He plays hockey — a sport or a game.	Il joue du piano.He plays the piano — an instrument.
Je pense à mes parents.I am thinking about my parents — they are on my mind.	Que penses-tu de ce film ?What do you think of that film — your opinion, in a question.

Trap

English adds a small word after listen and wait; French does not. J’écoute à la radio → J’écoute la radio. J’attends pour le bus → J’attends le bus.

Je téléphone à ma sœur pour parler du déménagement.

I am calling my sister to talk about the move.

Elle écoute la radio et elle pense à son voyage.

She listens to the radio and thinks about her trip.

P4 Before another verb: à, de, or nothing

Rule: when a second verb follows in its base form, the first verb decides what sits between them: nothing, à, or de. The second verb never changes shape.

Decide — what goes between the two verbs
First verb	Then	Example
pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, savoir	nothing	Je peux venir demain.I can come tomorrow.
aller, aimer, préférer, espérer	nothing	Nous allons partir tôt.We are going to leave early.
il faut	nothing	Il faut remplir le formulaire.The form has to be filled in.
commencer, apprendre, réussir	à	Elle commence à comprendre.She is starting to understand.
continuer, aider, hésiter	à	Il continue à travailler.He keeps on working.
essayer, décider, oublier	de	J’essaie de comprendre.I am trying to understand.
arrêter, finir, refuser	de	Il arrête de fumer.He is giving up smoking.
avoir envie	de	J’ai envie de sortir.I feel like going out.

Separate — the pairs that split in two directions
Takes à	Takes de
Je commence à travailler.I am starting work.	Je finis de travailler.I am finishing work.
Elle apprend à conduire.She is learning to drive.	Elle oublie de fermer la porte.She forgets to close the door.
Il réussit à tout finir.He manages to finish everything.	Il essaie de tout finir.He tries to finish everything.

Trap

The little word belongs to the first verb, and the meaning gives no clue: commencer and finir are opposites yet one takes à and the other de. Learn the block, not the logic. Je commence de travailler → Je commence à travailler.

Elle commence à comprendre et elle refuse de renoncer.

She is starting to understand and she refuses to give up.

Nous voulons déménager, alors nous essayons de vendre la maison.

We want to move, so we are trying to sell the house.

P5 The other little words

Rule: each of these words has one job in time or manner. Pick by what you mean, not by the English word: en measures how long a task takes, dans counts forward from now, depuis looks back on something still going on.

Decide — the meaning first, then the word
What you mean	Use	Example
how long a task takes you	en	Je finis le rapport en deux heures.I finish the report in two hours.
how far ahead from now	dans	Le train part dans deux heures.The train leaves in two hours.
started before, still going on now	depuis	J’habite ici depuis trois ans.I have lived here for three years.
how long a stretch lasts	pendant	Je travaille pendant huit heures.I work for eight hours.
a length planned ahead	pour	Il part pour deux semaines.He is leaving for two weeks.
how often	par	Je nage deux fois par semaine.I swim twice a week.
by what means	par	Elle envoie le dossier par courriel.She sends the file by email.
doing one thing while not doing another	sans + base form	Il sort sans dire au revoir.He leaves without saying goodbye.

Separate — en vs dans
en — the time the job needs, or the means	dans — the wait before it starts, or the inside
Je fais l’exercice en dix minutes.It takes me ten minutes to do it.	Je fais l’exercice dans dix minutes.I start it ten minutes from now.
Elle prépare le repas en trente minutes.Thirty minutes of cooking.	Elle prépare le repas dans trente minutes.She starts cooking in half an hour.
Je voyage en voiture.I travel by car.	J’attends dans la voiture.I am waiting inside the car.

Trap

With depuis the French verb stays in the present, because the situation is still true today, while English switches to have lived. J’ai habité ici depuis trois ans → J’habite ici depuis trois ans.

Je travaille ici depuis deux ans et je pars dans un mois.

I have worked here for two years and I am leaving in a month.

Elle va finir le dossier en une heure, sans regarder ses notes.

She is going to finish the file in an hour, without looking at her notes.

R1 Reflexive verbs: the mechanics

Rule: a reflexive verb carries a small pronoun that has to match the subject, and that pronoun sits right in front of the verb. Before a vowel or a silent h, me, te and se shorten to m’, t’, s’.

Decide — pick the pronoun from the subject
Subject	Pronoun	Example
je	me	Je me lève à six heures.I get up at six.
tu	te	Tu te reposes le dimanche.You rest on Sundays.
il / elle / on	se	Elle se prépare vite.She gets ready quickly.
nous	nous	Nous nous couchons tard.We go to bed late.
vous	vous	Vous vous reposez un peu.You are resting a little.
ils / elles	se	Ils se dépêchent.They are hurrying.
je + a verb starting with a vowel	m’	Je m’habille vite.I get dressed quickly.
tu + a verb starting with a vowel	t’	Tu t’installes ici.You are settling in here.
il / elle / ils + a verb starting with a vowel	s’	On s’appelle demain.We are calling each other tomorrow.

Separate — where the pronoun lands
The plain sentence	The same idea, reshaped
Je me lève tôt.I get up early — pronoun in front of the verb.	Je vais me lever tôt.I am going to get up early — pronoun in front of the base form.
Je me lève tôt.I get up early.	Je ne me lève pas tôt.I do not get up early — ne and pas wrap both the pronoun and the verb.
Tu te lèves tôt.You get up early.	Te lèves-tu tôt ?Do you get up early? — the pronoun stays in front and the subject moves behind.

Trap

After aller, vouloir or devoir the pronoun still belongs to the real subject, not to the base form: Je vais se lever → Je vais me lever, Nous voulons se reposer → Nous voulons nous reposer.

Je me lève à six heures et je me prépare en vingt minutes.

I get up at six and I get ready in twenty minutes.

Nous devons nous dépêcher, parce que le train part dans dix minutes.

We have to hurry, because the train leaves in ten minutes.

R2 Reflexive verbs that carry their own little word

Rule: some reflexive verbs always drag a little word behind them. Store the whole block as one unit — s’occuper de, s’intéresser à — because neither English nor the meaning tells you which one it is.

Learn — the block, not the verb
Block to memorise	Means	Example
s’occuper de	to take care of	Je m’occupe du dossier.I am handling the file.
se souvenir de	to remember	Je me souviens de son nom.I remember his name.
se servir de	to use	Elle se sert du vélo.She uses the bike.
se plaindre de	to complain about	Il se plaint du bruit.He complains about the noise.
s’intéresser à	to be interested in	Nous nous intéressons aux langues.We are interested in languages.
s’habituer à	to get used to	Tu t’habitues au climat.You are getting used to the climate.
se préparer à	to get ready for	Ils se préparent à l’entretien.They are getting ready for the interview.
s’adresser à	to go and ask	Adressez-vous au bureau 12.Ask at office 12.

Separate — the pair that catches everyone
se souvenir de	se rappeler (nothing)
Je me souviens de ce jour.I remember that day.	Je me rappelle ce jour.I remember that day.
Je me souviens ce jour.missing the little word	Je me rappelle de ce jour.an extra little word that should not be there

Trap

The little word then squeezes with le and les, so the block changes shape: s’occuper de + le dossier → je m’occupe du dossier; s’intéresser à + les langues → je m’intéresse aux langues.

Je dois m’occuper du déménagement ce week-end.

I have to take care of the move this weekend.

Elle s’habitue au rythme de son nouveau travail.

She is getting used to the pace of her new job.

French With Guri · Prepositions & Reflexives · 100 questions · English explanations, French practice.

Mini-chapter — the rules this quiz tests

P1 Places, countries and people

P2 Contractions and position words

P3 The verb chooses: à or de

P4 Before another verb: à, de, or nothing

P5 The other little words

R1 Reflexive verbs: the mechanics

R2 Reflexive verbs that carry their own little word

Droits et avertissement · Rights and disclaimer