De l'extérieur à l'intérieur

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De l'extérieur à l'intérieur
Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard , HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
À côté de, en face de, à l'extérieur de, à l'intérieur de, près de, loin de, au coin de (French Prepositions)
Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard , HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
La boulangerie est près de l' hôtel. The bakery is close to the hotel.
Je suis à côté de la piscine. I'm next to the swimming pool.
Je suis à côté du cinéma. I'm next to the cinema.
La statue est à l'extérieur du parc. The statue is outside the park.
En dehors de cela, je pense que c'est une mauvaise idée. Apart from that, I think it's a bad idea.
Tu vis en dehors de la ville. You live outside the city.
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
En dehors de cela, je pense que c'est une mauvaise idée. Apart from that, I think it's a bad idea.
Je ne connais personne en dehors de mon petit cercle d'amis. I know no one outside of my small circle of friends.
Je suis à côté de la piscine. I'm next to the swimming pool.
La statue est à l'extérieur du parc. The statue is outside the park.
Je t'attends au coin de la rue. I'm waiting for you at the street corner. 
La boulangerie est près de l' hôtel. The bakery is close to the hotel.
Nous sommes en face de la boulangerie. We are opposite the bakery.
Tu es là, en face de moi. You are there, opposite me.
Tu vis en dehors de la ville. You live outside the city.
Elle est assise au coin de la cheminée. She's sitting by the fireplace.
Je suis à côté du cinéma. I'm next to the cinema.
Je suis à l'intérieur du magasin. I am inside the shop.
La France est loin des Etats-Unis. France is far from the United States.
À côté de, en face de, à l'extérieur de, à l'intérieur de, près de, loin de, au coin de (French Prepositions)
Le marché est select ... près de en face de au coin de à côté de la plage. (The market is close to the beach.)
Nous habitons select ... près de en face de opposé en dehors de la gare. (We live opposite the train station.)
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Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer
Jim C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer
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Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer
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Just For Fun C1 Kwiziq community member
Cécile Kwiziq team member Correct answer
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Jim C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
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Sara B2 Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
In the second-to-last example sentence, should the "E" instead be "É"?
Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer
Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Sara B2 Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
In the second-to-last example sentence, should the "E" instead be "É"?
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Cécile Kwiziq team member Correct answer
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Cécile Kwiziq team member Correct answer
Robin B1 Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Merci beaucoup! That makes perfect sense.
Joan A1 Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Robin B1 Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
what's the difference between à Côté de and près de?
Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer
what's the difference between à Côté de and près de?
Can you explain when to use en dehors and just dehors?
Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
correction: l'ennemi se trouve en dehors de la cité (forgot the "de") -- Chris.
Alan C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Can you explain when to use en dehors and just dehors?
CrystalMaiden C1 Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Can you say À l'autre côté de instead of en face de?
Aurélie Kwiziq team member Correct answer
Can you say À l'autre côté de instead of en face de?
Catriona C1 Kwiziq community member
We were supposed to translate Daniel lives outside the city. I used "à l'extérieur de and it was marked wrong. The explanation was à l'extérieur is used in the geographical sense. To me, something being outside a city is pretty geographical. Also, I checked Linguee and this is what I got. Please note that most of the quotes in this list are from government websites. "https://www.linguee.com/english-french/search?source=auto&query=outside+the+city
Cécile Kwiziq team member Correct answer
Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Catriona C1 Kwiziq community member
Thanks for this, Chris. If that is correct I think geographical was a poor choice of words to describe the meaning of à l'extérieur in the lesson.
Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
We were supposed to translate Daniel lives outside the city. I used "à l'extérieur de and it was marked wrong. The explanation was à l'extérieur is used in the geographical sense. To me, something being outside a city is pretty geographical. Also, I checked Linguee and this is what I got. Please note that most of the quotes in this list are from government websites. "https://www.linguee.com/english-french/search?source=auto&query=outside+the+city
Ron C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Jose,
Let's see if I can explain this one correctly:
The following prepositions are used to indicate relative physical positions of one thing to another.
dans in/inside
sur on/on top of
devant in front of
derrière behind
entre between
sous underneath
Warning: Although the prepositions above are straightforward, in general, the choice of which preposition to use in different contexts varies. You can't translate literally to/from English but you will learn through experience!
The use of «en face de» denotes «opposite» while «devant» denotes «in front of»,. While in some contexts, they do seem to be synonymous, in the case «Tu es là, en face de moi. -->
You are there, opposite me.» I get the sense that the person is possibly sitting across a desk from the speaker.
I imagine that if my response is incorrect that someone from the Kwiziq team will provide a further explanation.
J'espère que ma réponse vous aiderait.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisé par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet


Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
To complement Ron's answer:

avant = before in a temporal sense, i.e., earlier.
devant = before in a spatial sense, i.e., in front of.

Il est arrivé avant moi = He arrived before me.
Il s'est assis devant moi = He sat in front of me.

-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Ron C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Aurélie ou Gruff,
Alors, j'ai appris qu' «au coin de» traduit comme «at the corner of», mais dans cette leçon-ci la traduction est «by/near». Je ne peux pas trouver cette traduction dans le Collins-Robert. Pourriez-vous me donner l'explication?
Merci,
Ron
Bonjour Ron !

"Au coin de" means "by/near" in the expression "au coin du feu" = by the fire.
However, I agree that most of the time, it does mean "at the corner of", as in "au coin de la rue".

I'll now add this missing translation to the lesson.

Merci beaucoup et à bientôt !
Ron C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Stephanie C1 Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Bonjour Aurélie ou Gruff,
Alors, j'ai appris qu' «au coin de» traduit comme «at the corner of», mais dans cette leçon-ci la traduction est «by/near». Je ne peux pas trouver cette traduction dans le Collins-Robert. Pourriez-vous me donner l'explication?
Merci,
Ron
How to say "across [the street] from"?
Hi Arash,

It depends what you want to say. The expression "de l'autre côté [de la rue]" is probably the closest French expression, but if you want to say e.g. X is on the other side of the road from/of Y, then you would use "X est en face de Y".

Hope that helps!
How to say "across [the street] from"?
Jim C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
outside? en dehors de versus à l'extérieur de please explain.
Aurélie Kwiziq team member Correct answer
Bonjour Jim ! Thank you very much for this question, which highlighted some confusion in the original lesson. Indeed, "à l'extérieur de" is the way to express "outside *location*". Thanks to you, I've updated the lesson to make it much clearer, and address the distinction with "en dehors de". Please have a look: À côté de, en face de, à l'extérieur de, à l'intérieur de, près de, loin de, au coin de (French Prepositions) I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !
Jim C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Salut Aurélie,
Many thanks for the clarification I needed to understand the nuance and you have helped with that point.
Best wishes,
Alan (Jim)
outside? en dehors de versus à l'extérieur de please explain.
Joakim C1 Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Why is it "*à* côté de" but "*au* coin de" ?
Aurélie Kwiziq team member Correct answer
Bonjour à tous les deux ! Chris is onto something there: "au coin de" means literally "at the corner of", hence contracted article. As for "à côté de"... all I can say is that it is a fixed expression to say "next to", not to be confused with "aux côtés de" meaning "by *someone's* side" (note the plural in French). I hope that helps! Bonne journée à vous !
Chris C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Because the definite article "le" is used in the latter and not the former case. And now, of course, you ask, "why"? I am not sure there is a clear answer apart from that's just how it is.... But I await Aurélie's reply.

-- Chris.
Why is it "*à* côté de" but "*au* coin de" ?

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The following prepositions are used to indicate relative physical positions of one thing to another. 
Note that the indefinite article de must contract if followed by a masculine article le (du) and the plural l es (des) . 
Case of à l'extérieur de versus en dehors de :
- À l'extérieur de means outside in a geographical way, literally out of [something]
- En dehors de is more the abstract outside , in the sense of apart from , but can also be used with locations.
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Hi, could someone please explain a little bit in detail, the difference between face à and en face de ? Is the first one used for when one faces something, but I think it can be used otherwise too (literally/physically)? 
Face à la fenêtre -- facing the window. En face de la fenêtre -- in front of the window, across from the window
Hi, could someone please explain a little bit in detail, the difference between face à and en face de ? Is the first one used for when one faces something, but I think it can be used otherwise too (literally/physically)? 
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I have not seen this one addressed elsewhere, so I will post it and see if there is any advice. In all the exercises so far, "près de" is used. I am in Quebec and have been using "proche de", which seems to be commonly used.
So - the question: is there some subtle differences in the use of "près" or "proche" which I should learn?
Have a look above where a similar question was answered.
http://bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/bdl/index.aspx
Also, the above site may be of particular help given your location -- simply enter each word and read the information -- I think you will find this site very helpful.
Près de -- indicates spatial proximity to something Il s'est assis près de moi. -- He sat down close to me.
Proche de -- indicates an emotional closeness, not a spatial one. Il ne vit pas près de chez moi, bien qu'on soit très proches . -- He doesn't live near me even though we are quite close (friends).
I have not seen this one addressed elsewhere, so I will post it and see if there is any advice. In all the exercises so far, "près de" is used. I am in Quebec and have been using "proche de", which seems to be commonly used.
So - the question: is there some subtle differences in the use of "près" or "proche" which I should learn?
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says it translates to "Suddenly, the creature was here, opposite me."
Does that mean that can mean both "here" and "there" in English then?
The correspondence that là is there and ici is here is too simplistic. Ici is, however, closer to the speaker than là, and là-bas is further away.
For some reason your system deleted the question I put in there, it seems to delete things when certain symbols are used in the text!
says it translates to "Suddenly, the creature was here, opposite me."
Does that mean that can mean both "here" and "there" in English then?
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With the above examples the final 's' in 'je suis a' is silent. But when saying 'Je suis aller..' I have heard the s pronounced? Is there a rule for when the final 's' is silent or not?
The liaisons after c'est/il est/suis/sont are what we call optional liaison s -
So you can say - Je suis //allé or Je suiZallé 
C’est // évident OR  C’esTévident ( It’s obvious)
Il est // impossible de vous tromper OR Il esTimpossible de … …( It’s impossible for you to make a mistake )
Il est // entré dans la chambre …OR Il esTentré dans la chambre. .. ( He came into the bedroom)
Ils sont // allés en France OR Ils sonTallés en France ( They went to France )
Elle s’est // enfermée dans sa chambre OR Elle s’esTenfermée dans sa chambre ( She locked herself in her bedroom)
Je suis // étudiant en Médecine OR Je suiZétudiant en Médecine ( I am a student of Medicine)
Quand il est // arrivé, nous sommes partis OR QuanTil esTarrivé, nous sommes partis ( We left when he arrived ) 
Liaisons are somewhat complicated in French, as there are required, optional and forbidden liaisons. Here is a link that will help you further:
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/pronunciation/liaisons/
Thanks for the replies. I understand better now.
 I was reading the liaison lessons in the link provided, and one case has me confused. It says Comment__ is a forbidden liaison, but I clearly remember being taught in school, CommenTallez-vous? with liaison between the t and the a. Is this incorrect?
With the above examples the final 's' in 'je suis a' is silent. But when saying 'Je suis aller..' I have heard the s pronounced? Is there a rule for when the final 's' is silent or not?
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Can one say, "Daniel habite à l'extérieur de la ville" to say "Daniel lives outside of the city", or is it wrong or odd? Also, when I was in school, we were told to use "au-dehors de" but you do not include it in the prepositions lesson. Do people use this preposition? It is in the Collins dictionary.
It is a question of "how far from".
If we want to express "outside of the city" for example, then to communicate the scale of distance involved we need another description. Peripherique, banlieue, environs.
One could use "l'extérieur de" but this does not give a sense of scale without further information.
Dehors --  en plein air, but again insufficient information without further context.
It is not "odd" nor "wrong" to use your text -- but lacking context without further information.
I'm also curious about "au dehors de".
Can one say, "Daniel habite à l'extérieur de la ville" to say "Daniel lives outside of the city", or is it wrong or odd? Also, when I was in school, we were told to use "au-dehors de" but you do not include it in the prepositions lesson. Do people use this preposition? It is in the Collins dictionary.
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Ah, I got it now. The accent on capital letters is kind of optional.
The 2nd to last example sentence reads: Je suis à côté du cinéma. I don't see an é missing. Is that the sentence you are referring to?
Oops, nope - the one that includes “Etats-Unis”! I think the website sorts the examples in random order
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What is the difference between 'du côté de' and 'au côté de' ?
'Du côté droit de la scène', means 'on the right hand side of the stage'.
There is an expression 'au côté de' meaning,  alongside .
Three very different meanings which will be used depending on context...
What is the difference between 'du côté de' and 'au côté de' ?
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My french teacher only speaks in French. She was trying to explain the difference between "face à" and "en face de" but the nuance was lost on me. Can someone explain in English? Merci!
Face à la fenêtre -- facing the window.
En face de la fenêtre -- in front of the window
My french teacher only speaks in French. She was trying to explain the difference between "face à" and "en face de" but the nuance was lost on me. Can someone explain in English? Merci!
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In this example why is the verb to be present? Elle est assise au coin de la cheminée.
In this case 'assis/e' is the adjective describing the action of having sat down and it means she is seated by the fireplace. The problem is that in English you can also use sitting which can convey the action as well as the result of the action.
The verb is simply to be in the present tense .
If she was standing by the chimney it would be similarly -
"Elle est debout au coin de la cheminée."
Not to be confused with "Elle s'asseoit au coin de la cheminée." which would be she is sitting herself down by the fireplace .
Does it means that s'asseoir emphasis on the action while être assis emphasis on the result? What if I want to say 'After everyone is seated, the show began'? Can both ( s'asseoir and être assis) be used in this sentence?
' Le spectacle commencera quand tout le monde sera assis '
In this example why is the verb to be present? Elle est assise au coin de la cheminée.
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À côté de moi ... by my side, next to me
For questions like these, a dictionary can be helpful. There are several available online: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english
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dehors means outside, as in: Les enfants jouent dehors. -- The kids play outside.
En dehors refers to the outside as a more tangible place and as such has a clear opposite: en dedans. It can also be used figuratively, though.
à l'extérieur -- Il faut repeindre l'extérieur du mur. -- One must paint the outside of the wall.
dehors on its own is an adverb, so you use it to say they're playing outside, eating outside etc.
en dehors de is a preposition, so you use that to say outside of something .
"C'est dehors la question" seems wrong to me. I think it should be "hors de question".
I am getting the feeling for it now!
I am getting the feeling for it now!
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No, you cannot say à l'autre côté de , but you could use de l'autre côté de , meaning on the other side of , though just like in English, the meaning is different from en face de (opposite) . 
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I would argue that you can say both ' en dehors de la ville' and ' à l'extérieur de la ville' in this particular example ...
But just to correct the ealier " It's out of the question! " . It would be " C'est hors de question!" 
That's a good question and would benefit
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