Contractions (à + le, de + le) in French

Overview

In French, certain prepositions and articles must merge together into a single word. These mandatory contractions involve the prepositions à (to/at) and de (of/from) when they appear before the definite articles le and les. You cannot avoid them — they are not optional stylistic choices but strict grammatical rules.

As an A1 learner, you will encounter these contractions in nearly every French sentence because à and de are two of the most common prepositions. Whether you are talking about going to a place, coming from somewhere, or expressing possession, contractions will be part of your daily French.

The important thing to remember is that contractions only happen with le and les. The articles la and l' do not contract — they stay separate from the preposition.

How It Works

Preposition + Article	Contraction	Example
à + le	au	au cinéma (to the cinema)
à + les	aux	aux enfants (to the children)
à + la	no change	à la gare (to the station)
à + l'	no change	à l'école (to the school)
de + le	du	du professeur (of the professor)
de + les	des	des étudiants (of the students)
de + la	no change	de la ville (of the city)
de + l'	no change	de l'hôpital (of the hospital)

Key rules:

• Contractions are mandatory — you can never say à le or de le in French.
• Only le and les trigger contractions.
• La and l' never contract with à or de.
• These contractions apply everywhere: after verbs, in compound prepositions (près du parc), and with expressions using de (beaucoup des → actually beaucoup de — but that is a different rule for quantities).

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Je vais au cinéma.	I'm going to the cinema.	à + le = au
Il parle aux enfants.	He speaks to the children.	à + les = aux
C'est le livre du professeur.	It's the professor's book.	de + le = du
Je reviens de la gare.	I'm coming back from the station.	de + la = no contraction
Elle va à l'école.	She goes to school.	à + l' = no contraction
La couleur du ciel est belle.	The color of the sky is beautiful.	de + le = du
Il joue au football.	He plays football.	à + le = au
C'est la voiture des voisins.	It's the neighbors' car.	de + les = des
Je pense aux vacances.	I'm thinking about the holidays.	à + les = aux
Près du parc, il y a un café.	Near the park, there is a cafe.	Compound preposition + du
Le bureau de l'avocat est fermé.	The lawyer's office is closed.	de + l' = no contraction

Common Mistakes

Writing "à le" or "de le" without contracting

• Wrong: Je vais à le marché.
• Right: Je vais au marché.
• Why: The contraction is mandatory. French speakers will always say au, never à le.

Contracting with "la" or "l'"

• Wrong: Je vais aula gare.
• Right: Je vais à la gare.
• Why: Only le and les contract. La and l' remain separate from the preposition.

Confusing "des" (contraction) with "des" (indefinite article)

• Wrong interpretation: Les livres des enfants = "some children's books"
• Right interpretation: Les livres des enfants = "the children's books"
• Why: Here, des is the contraction of de + les, not the indefinite plural article. Context tells you which one it is.

Practice Tips

1. Whenever you see au, aux, du, des in a French text, mentally break them apart into their components (à + le, de + les, etc.) to reinforce the pattern.
2. Practice with common expressions: jouer au tennis, aller au restaurant, parler du film, revenir des courses — these phrases will make the contractions feel automatic.
3. Create simple sentences combining à and de with all four articles (le, la, l', les) to see which ones contract and which do not.

Related Concepts

• Definite Articles — the parent concept covering le, la, l', les