Prepositions "de" and "en"

Preposition: DE. It can be translated as: with, from, in, between, towards, by....depending on the sentence.

a) It is used to introduce an infinitive
Je viens de jouer	I'm coming from playing
Nous venons de travailler	We are coming from work
b) With expressions of time, with the meaning of "from"
Je travaille de 9 heures à 5 heures	I work from 9 til 5
Du lundi au mercredi je serai à Paris	From Monday to Wednesday I will be in Paris
c) With expressions of place with the meaning of "from"
Nous sommes arrivés de Seville	We've arrived from Sevilla
Je viens de mon bureau	I'm coming from my office
d) When used with a noun, where it can indicate posession
Ce livre est de mon frère	This book is my brother's
Cette maison est de mon ami	This house is my friend's
e) Other examples
Mourir de faim	To die of hunger
Peu de chose	Not a lot
Beaucoup de choses	Many things

Preposition: EN. It can be translated as: in, at, from....Amongst these principal uses we can highlight the following:

a) With names of countries with the meaning of "in"
Je suis en France	I'm in France
Nous arrivons en Italie	We arrived in Italy
b) With time expressions
Nous sommes en été	We are in summer
Le train arrivera dans trois heures	The train will arrive in three hours time
c) With nouns which indicate a material
La statue en marbre	The marble statue
La chaise en bois	The wooden chair
L'anneau en or	The golden ring
d) With set expressions
Voyager en avion	To travel by plane
S'exprimer en français	To express yourself in French
e) Introducing the gerund
En arrivant, il a salué	He greeted people when arriving
En mangeant, il écoute de la musique	He listens to music when eating

VOCABULARY

l'hôpital

Ill	Patient (m/f)	Transfusion	Transfusion (f)
Hospital	Hôpital (m)	Cardiologist	Cardiologue (m)
Bed	Brancard (m)	Pediatritian	Pédiatre (m)
Operating theatre	Salle d'opération (f)	Gynecologist	Gynécologue (m)
Surgeon	Chirurgien (m)	Analysis	Analyse (f)
Anesthetize	Anesthésier	Clinic	Clinique (f)
Scalpel	Bistouri (m)	Neurologist	Neurologue (m)
Nurse	Infirmier (-ère)	Dermatologist	Dermatologie (f)
Ambulance	Ambulance (f)	Psychologist	Psychologue (m)
Operation	Opération (f)	Psychiatrist	Psychiatre (m)
Amputate	Amputer	Midwife	Matrone (f)
Porter	Surveillant(e)

 

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