Definite articles contract with à and de in French (French Contracted Articles)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE

Last updated: 2024-02-05

Take the fastest path to fluent French

When prepositions à or de are followed by definite articles le or les in French, these prepositions "contract" with them to form one word.

Learn how to contract à / de with the definite articles in French

Summary of the rules of contracted articles with à and de

Preposition + article	Contraction	Example
à + le	au	Je vais au cinéma. (le cinéma)
à + les	aux	Je vais aux États-Unis. (Les États-Unis / USA)
de + le	du	Je viens du marché. (le marché /market)
de + les	des	Je viens des Pays-Bas. (Les Pays-Bas / The Netherlands)
These don't contract
à + la		Je vais à la poste (the post office)
à + l'		Je vais à l'hôtel.
de + la		Je viens de la piscine. (the swimming pool)
de + l'		Je viens de l'auberge de jeunesse. (the youth hostel)

Remember that with locations, you will use the preposition à = to/in + [a place] and de = from + [a place].

Listen to these examples :

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

Je vais aux États-Unis. I'm going to the United States.

Je viens du marché.I'm coming from the market.

Je viens des Pays-Bas.I come from the Netherlands.
I am from the Netherlands.

Je vais à la poste. I'm going to the post office.

Je vais à l'hôtel.I'm going to the hotel.

Je viens de la piscine.I come from the swimming pool.

Je viens de l'auberge de jeunesse.I'm coming from the hostel.

Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Examples and resources

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

Je vais aux États-Unis. I'm going to the United States.

Je viens du marché.I'm coming from the market.

Elle va au restaurant.She goes to the restaurant.

Je viens de la piscine.I come from the swimming pool.

Je viens des Pays-Bas.I come from the Netherlands.
I am from the Netherlands.

Nous allons à la boulangerie.We are going to the bakery.

Je vais à la poste. I'm going to the post office.

Je vais à l'hôtel.I'm going to the hotel.

Ils viennent du cinéma.They're coming from the cinema.

Je viens de l'auberge de jeunesse.I'm coming from the hostel.

Noël au balcon, Pâques au tisonA warm Christmas means a cold Easter
(lit. Christmas on the balcony, Easter by the firebrand)

Joyeux, joyeux Noël,
Aux mille bougies,
Qu'enchantent vers le ciel,
Les cloches de la nuit.Happy, happy Christmas!
To the thousand candles,
That enchant to the heavens,
The night bells.

à

Je vais au bureauI'm going to the office

Alain va à la maison.Alain is going home.
Alain is going to the house

Marie est à l'école.Marie is in school.
Marie is at school.

de

Ils rentrent du restaurant.They're coming home from the restaurant.