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La boulangerie est à côté du cinéma.

La boulangerie est à côté du cinéma.
The bakery is next to the cinema.
From Lesson 36:The preposition from/of (de, du, des)·French

Questions & Answers about La boulangerie est à côté du cinéma.

Why does it say du cinéma instead of de le cinéma?
In French, the preposition de and the masculine word for 'the' (le) can never sit next to each other. They always combine to form the single word du. Since cinéma is a masculine noun, it takes le, which forces this contraction.
Where does the de come from to make du? The English translation doesn't say 'of' or 'from'.
The French expression for 'next to' is à côté de. Even though we do not use 'of' in the English translation, the de is a mandatory part of that fixed phrase in French. You are essentially saying 'at the side of the cinema'.
Why does the letter à have an accent mark?
The accent over the à distinguishes it from a without an accent, which means 'has' (the verb avoir). With the accent, it is a little connecting word (a preposition) used for locations, like in à côté de.
Is there a trick to remember that boulangerie is feminine?
Yes! Almost all French words ending in -erie (which often describe shops, like a bakery or a pastry shop) are feminine. That is why we use la to say la boulangerie.

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