French prepositions
à vs. de: how to choose
'à' points toward something (destination, target); 'de' points away from or belonging to something (origin, possession) — verb-specific pairings are the main exception and must be memorized separately.
The decision: Moving toward/at/indirect object → à. Coming from/belonging to/made of → de.
The choices at a glance
| Choose | When to use it | Pattern and example |
|---|---|---|
| à | Destination, location, indirect object, or a fixed verb+à. | Je vais à Paris. |
| de | Origin, possession, material, or a fixed verb+de. | Je viens de Lyon. |
Practise this decision in FKE
The interactive comparison includes decision practice and links to the related FKE knowledge tools.
Open à vs. de in FKE