En vs Dans with locations (French Prepositions of Location)

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

Last updated: 2024-10-07

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How to use dans and en with locations in French

Dans (+ un/une, le/la/l'/les, des) and en are both used to mean in a location (town, class...).

Look at these contrasting examples:

Je suis en classe.I'm in class.

Je suis dans la classe.I'm in the classroom.

The nuance between dans la and en is as follows:

- dans + [article] + [noun] refers to the physical place or building - i.e. inside.
= in/inside/at + the/a/his + [place]

Il y a une boulangerie dans la ville.There is a bakery in the town.

Il y a eu une émeute dans la prison.There's been a riot in the prison.

Les leçons ont lieu dans son école d'ingénieur.Classes take place at her engineering school.

- en + [noun] refers to a place in general, or to the function represented by the place.
= in [place]

Je vais en ville.I'm going to town.

Le voleur est en prison pour deux ans.The thief is in jail for two years. -> refers to the jail sentence.

Ma fille est en école d'ingénieur cette année.My daughter is in engineering school this year. -> refers to studying there.

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Préposition

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