Discussing Home and Work in French - Exercises

Practice describing locations and destinations in French

Lesson Transcript

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Claire passe la soirée (pause with a tap of the finger) moi ce soir.

chez

Claire passe la soirée chez moi ce soir.

"Claire is spending the evening at my place tonight."

We use chez in this sentence because chez is used to indicate someone's place or home. In chez moi, the word chez shows that Claire is going to my place. It's always followed by a person's name or a stressed pronoun like moi, toi, or lui. The other options, like à or de, would not be correct here, because they don't express the idea of being at someone's place.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Mon ami travaille (pause with a tap of the finger) l'hôpital comme infirmier.

Mon ami travaille à l'hôpital comme infirmier.

"My friend works at the hospital as a nurse."

We use à in this sentence because à is the correct preposition for referring to a general location, such as a city, building, or institution. In à l'hôpital, à shows where the action takes place — at the hospital. This is the standard preposition used before places when talking about where someone works, lives, or goes. Chez wouldn't work because it refers to a person's place, and en is more often used with countries or in vague contexts, not specific buildings.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Mes parents vont souvent (pause with a tap of the finger) leur voisin le dimanche.

chez

Mes parents vont souvent chez leur voisin le dimanche.

"My parents often go to their neighbor's place on Sundays."

We use chez in this sentence because chez tells us that someone is going to a person's home. In chez leur voisin, it means "to their neighbor's place." This preposition is used when the destination is someone's residence or professional space, like chez le docteur. Using à or dans would change the meaning and make the sentence incorrect, since we're not talking about a general place or physical interior, but the idea of a person's home.

Unscramble the words to make a sentence.

Ready?

Les

Les enfants

Les enfants courent

Les enfants courent jusqu'à

Les enfants courent jusqu'à la

Les enfants courent jusqu'à la rivière

Les enfants courent jusqu'à la rivière après

Les enfants courent jusqu'à la rivière après l'école.

"The children run to the river after school."

Les enfants courent jusqu'à la rivière après l'école.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Ils mangent toujours (en or à) la cantine le midi.

Ils mangent toujours à la cantine le midi.

"They always eat at the cafeteria at lunchtime."

À is used here because...

…à is the correct preposition to indicate being at or going to a specific place. In à la cantine, à shows that the action of eating happens at the cafeteria. It's the standard preposition used before buildings or locations. En would not work here because it's used with countries, certain modes of transport, or general enclosed spaces, not for a specific eating place like la cantine.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Ma cousine conduit (jusqu'à or chez) Paris demain matin.

jusqu'à

Ma cousine conduit jusqu'à Paris demain matin.

"My cousin is driving to Paris tomorrow morning."

Jusqu'à is used here because...

…jusqu'à means "up to" or "as far as," and it's used to indicate the endpoint or final destination of a movement. In jusqu'à Paris, it shows that the cousin is driving all the way to Paris. Chez wouldn't be correct here because it refers to a person's home or place, not a city. Jusqu'à fits perfectly when talking about how far someone travels.

Let's translate some sentences into French.

Translate "Marc stayed at his uncle's during the holidays." into French.

Marc, the subject,

followed by

est resté, meaning "stayed,"

chez son oncle, meaning "at his uncle's place,"

followed by

pendant les vacances, meaning "during the holidays."

Chez is used here because it indicates being at or staying at someone's home or place.

Marc est resté chez son oncle pendant les vacances.

"Marc stayed at his uncle's during the holidays."

Translate "We're walking to the library." into French.

Nous, the subject pronoun, meaning "we,"

followed by

marchons, the present tense of marcher, meaning "walk,"

jusqu'à la bibliothèque, meaning "to the library" or "as far as the library."

Jusqu'à is used here because it expresses the endpoint of a movement. In this sentence, jusqu'à la bibliothèque means the library is the final destination of the walk.

Nous marchons jusqu'à la bibliothèque.

"We're walking to the library."

Translate "My sister has been living in Lyon for two years." into French.

Ma sœur, the subject noun phrase, meaning "my sister,"

followed by

habite, the present tense of habiter, meaning "lives,"

à Lyon, meaning "in Lyon,"

followed by

depuis deux ans, meaning "for two years."

À is used here because it introduces a city or general location. In à Lyon, à tells us where someone lives or works.

Ma sœur habite à Lyon depuis deux ans.

"My sister has been living in Lyon for two years."

Listen to me as I speak. Which expression is being used here to talk about place or action?

Claire passe la soirée chez moi ce soir.

Let's listen one more time.

Claire passe la soirée chez moi ce soir.

Did you hear, chez moi? "At my place."

We use chez to talk about being at or going to someone's home or space.

How about...?

Les enfants courent jusqu'à la rivière après l'école.

Let's listen one more time.

Les enfants courent jusqu'à la rivière après l'école.

Did you hear, jusqu'à la rivière? "To the river."

Jusqu'à shows the endpoint of a movement or journey.

Next…

Ils mangent toujours à la cantine le midi.

One more time.

Ils mangent toujours à la cantine le midi.

Did you hear, à la cantine? "At the cafeteria."

À is used here to locate where something happens—in this case, where they eat lunch.

And...

Marc est resté chez son oncle pendant les vacances.

One more time.

Marc est resté chez son oncle pendant les vacances.

Did you hear, chez son oncle? "At his uncle's place."

It's the go-to preposition when someone is at someone else's home or residence.

Thank you for watching.

Now you know how to talk about where you live and work in French.

...and now you can move on to the next lesson in the pathway.

Au revoir !

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