Breakdown of La poste est dans cette rue.
Questions & Answers about La poste est dans cette rue.
Since the current lesson is about using à, au, or aux for locations, why does this sentence use dans?
In English, we say a building is 'on' a street. You might be tempted to use sur (on) or à (at), but French uses dans (in) for streets. The French visualize a street as a 3D space enclosed by buildings, so you are 'in' it. Does la poste mean the mail or the post office building?
It means both! While you might have learned le bureau de poste for the specific building, everyday French speakers almost always just say la poste when they are talking about going to the post office. Why is it cette rue instead of ce rue?
Because the word for street, rue, is feminine. To say 'this' or 'that' before a feminine noun, you use cette. If the noun were masculine, you would use ce. Does cette mean 'this' or 'that'?
It can mean either one. French doesn't strictly separate 'this' and 'that' the way English does. Context usually makes it clear, but if you need to emphasize 'that street over there', you would add -là to the end of the noun: cette rue-là. Learn La poste est dans cette rue and more in French
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