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### Asking "Where?" (Où)

To ask for a location in French, use the question word **où** (where). Notice the grave accent on the letter *u*—this distinguishes it from the French word *ou* (which means "or"). 

When stopping someone on the street to ask for directions, it is polite to begin your question with **pardon** (excuse me).

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### Distance: Far and Near

When answering a "where" question, it often helps to establish the distance first. You can describe how far away a place is using **loin** (far) and **près** (near / close).

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### Prepositions of Place

To give a more specific location, you will use prepositions. Here are four essential ones for navigating the city (or finding things around the house):

- **devant** (in front of)
- **derrière** (behind)
- **à côté de** (next to)
- **sous** (under)

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### Giving Directions

When a place is not immediately visible, you will need to follow moving directions. You will often hear the verb **tourner** (to turn) combined with these direction phrases:

- **à gauche** (to the left)
- **à droite** (to the right)

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If you don't need to turn, you will use the phrase **tout droit** (straight ahead). This is typically paired with the verb **aller** (to go).

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Question word for location (où)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and elision (le, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, une)

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Knowing facts vs. familiarity (savoir, connaître)

Question	Answer
excuse me	pardon
Excuse me, where is the train station?	Pardon, où est la gare ?
the map	le plan
Do you have a map of the city?	Tu as un plan de la ville ?
far	loin
Where is the museum? It is far.	Où est le musée ? Il est loin.
near	près
No, the hotel is very close.	Non, l'hôtel est très près.
Excuse me, is the pharmacy far?	Pardon, est-ce que la pharmacie est loin ?
Where is the cinema? It is near the bank.	Où est le cinéma ? Il est près de la banque.
in front of	devant
The car is in front of the house.	La voiture est devant la maison.
behind	derrière
The dog is behind the house.	Le chien est derrière la maison.
The restaurant is in front of the supermarket.	Le restaurant est devant le supermarché.
I am behind you!	Je suis derrière toi !
next to	à côté de
The supermarket is next to the bakery.	Le supermarché est à côté de la boulangerie.
Where is the cat? Under the table.	Où est le chat ? Sous la table.
to turn	tourner
to the left	à gauche
You turn left.	Tu tournes à gauche.
to the right	à droite
You turn right.	Vous tournez à droite.
straight ahead	tout droit
Where is the hospital? You go straight ahead.	Où est l'hôpital ? Vous allez tout droit.
I go straight, and I turn left.	Je vais tout droit, et je tourne à gauche.
No, you turn right.	Non, tu tournes à droite.
Where is the map? It is next to the computer.	Où est le plan ? Il est à côté de l'ordinateur.
over there	là-bas
The museum is over there, on the right.	Le musée est là-bas, à droite.
Where is the train station? It is over there.	Où est la gare ? Elle est là-bas.
the right (side); the right wing	la droite
His house is on the right.	Sa maison est sur la droite.
The right of the street is pretty.	La droite de la rue est jolie.
back, backwards	arrière
The cat goes backwards.	Le chat va en arrière.
Look back and to the right.	Regardez en arrière et à droite.

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