Learn Hardcore French: Le pommier est près de la maison.

You’re referring to one specific apple tree that both speaker and listener know about.
French doesn’t allow bare nouns in most contexts (unlike English: “Apple tree is near the house”).
If you meant any apple tree, you’d say Un pommier instead.

Why is it pommier instead of pomme?

pommier means “apple tree” (the plant).
pomme means “apple” (the fruit).
Since the sentence describes the location of the tree itself, you need pommier.

What does près de mean and why is it used here?

près de is a compound preposition meaning “near” or “close to.” It expresses physical proximity. It must be followed by de + noun:
• près de la maison → “near the house”

Why is it près de la and not près la or près du?

près always requires de before the noun.
de + le contracts to du, so près du would mean “near the (masculine).”
de + la never contracts, so you keep de la for a feminine noun like maison.

Can we say Le pommier se trouve près de la maison instead?

Yes.

se trouver (literally “to find oneself”) is a reflexive verb commonly used for locations.
Both est and se trouve are correct: est is more straightforward, while se trouve feels slightly more formal or descriptive.

What’s the difference between près de and à côté de?

près de = “near,” a general indication of proximity.
à côté de = “right next to” or “beside,” implying immediate adjacency.
Use à côté de when you want to emphasize that two things are directly side by side.

Could I use proche instead of près?

Yes, but the structure changes:
• Le pommier est proche de la maison.
Here proche is an adjective that follows est, whereas près de is a prepositional phrase. In everyday speech, près de is more commonly used for physical distance.

How do you pronounce pommier?

Approximate pronunciation: /pɔ.mje/

o in pom sounds like the /ɔ/ in “thought.”
Double m keeps the vowel short but doesn’t change its quality.
ier is pronounced /je/, similar to “yay” without the final /a/.