Question 1

Why does this sentence use du mur instead of just de le mur?

Accepted Answer

The preposition for "next to" is à côté de. In French, whenever the word de is directly followed by the masculine word le (the), they must combine into du. You can never say de le. Because mur (wall) is masculine, we use le mur, which forces the combination into du mur.

Question 2

Will "next to" always end in du, or does it change?

Accepted Answer

It changes depending on the gender of the noun that follows. The base phrase is just à côté de. If the bed were next to a door (a feminine word, la porte), you would say à côté de la porte. You only use du when the next word uses the masculine article le.

Question 3

What does the word côté actually mean on its own?

Accepted Answer

By itself, un côté means "a side". So, the literal translation of à côté de is "at the side of". This is the standard, everyday way to say "next to" or "beside" in French.

Question 4

Why is there an accent on the word à?

Accepted Answer

The grave accent on à is there to separate it from another word that looks identical. Without the accent, a is the verb meaning "has" (like in il a, he has). With the accent, à is the preposition meaning "at", "to", or "in". They sound identical, but the accent is required in writing to tell them apart.

Le lit est à côté du mur.

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