Syntactic Classification of French Prepositions

Prepositions (les prpositions) are a small but vital class of functional words in French. They establish relationships between a noun phrase (or other syntactic unit) and another element of the clause, typically expressing notions of location, direction, time, cause, manner, or possession. Although the inventory of French prepositions is limited, their behaviour is richly diverse. Linguists divide French prepositions into several syntactic subclasses based on their distribution, valency, and interaction with other categories.

1. Simple (or Primary) Prepositions

These are the most frequent and productive prepositions. They occupy a fixed position before the complement they govern and cannot be inflected.

• destination, location, time: Je vais Paris.
• de source, possession, cause: Le livre de Marie.
• dans interior location: Dans la bote.
• sur surface contact: Sur la table.
• en material, time, manner: En hiver.
• par means, agent in passive: Il a t bless par le chien.
• avec accompaniment, instrument: Avec moi.
• sans absence: Sans doute.
• pour purpose, benefit: Un cadeau pour toi.
• entre spatial or logical division: Entre les deux.

2. Compound (or Derivational) Prepositions

These prepositions are formed by the combination of simple prepositions with nouns, adjectives, adverbs, or pronouns. They behave as single lexical items and are often fixed expressions.

• auprs de near, close to: Auprs de la porte.
• cause de because of: cause de la pluie.
• en face de opposite: En face de lcole.
• propos de about: propos de ton projet.
• audel de beyond: Audel des montagnes.
• grce thanks to: Grce toi.

3. Prepositional Phrases Used as Prepositions (QuasiPrepositions)

These are multiword expressions that function like prepositions but retain an internal syntactic structure. They are usually built from a preposition + a noun or adjective.

• au moyen de by means of: Au moyen de la logique.
• au lieu de instead of: Au lieu de pleurer.
• la place de in place of: la place de moi.
• en dpit de despite: En dpit du danger.

4. Prepositions as Subordinating Conjunctions

Some prepositions introduce subordinate clauses, blurring the line between preposition and conjunction. They are treated as prepositions when they retain a nominal complement and as conjunctions when they head a clause.

• avant que before (clause): Avant quil parte, il signe.
• pendant que while: Pendant quil travaille, il coute.
• jusqu ce que until: Jusqu ce que le train arrive.

5. Prepositions Governing Infinitives

In French, several prepositions can be followed directly by an infinitive. The infinitive functions as the complement of the preposition, often expressing purpose, cause, or condition.

• pour + infinitive: Il travaille pour gagner de largent.
• sans + infinitive: Sans dire un mot.
• avant de + infinitive: Avant de partir.
• aprs + infinitive: Aprs avoir fini.

6. Distributional Properties

French prepositions differ in the type of complement they allow:

• Nominal complement (NP): most simple prepositions (, de, sur, etc.) take a noun phrase.
• Clausal complement: prepositions such as avant que, pendant que, and jusqu ce que introduce subordinate clauses.
• Infinitival complement: as shown above, certain prepositions accept an infinitive verb.
• Adverbial complement: prepositions can sometimes govern adverbial phrases (e.g., en effet, en revanche).

7. Interaction with Negation and Coordination

Prepositional phrases can be coordinated or appear within negative constructions:

• Coordination: Il est venu Paris et Lyon.
• Negation: Je nai rien dire.
• Both: Ni la maison ni au travail, il nest pas disponible.

8. Special Cases

Prepositional particles such as y and en replace prepositional phrases and are considered clitic pronouns rather than true prepositions, but they illustrate the tight relationship between prepositions and pronouns in French syntax.

9. Summary Table

Class	Typical Elements	Typical Complement	Example
Simple prepositions	, de, en, avec	NP	Je parle Marie.
Compound prepositions	cause de, grce , audel de	NP	Grce vous, nous russissons.
Quasiprepositions	au moyen de, en dpit de	NP	En dpit du vent, il avance.
Preposition+clause	avant que, pendant que	Subordinate clause	Avant quil parte, il signe.
Preposition+infinitive	pour, sans, avant de	Infinitive verb	Il travaille pour gagner.

10. Further Reading

For deeper insight into French prepositional syntax, consult the following resources:

• Leopold, H. (2004). French Grammar and Syntax. Paris: Presses Universitaires.
• Goudet, B., & Gauthier, F. (2012). Prepositional phrase structure in contemporary French. Journal of Romance Linguistics, 22(3), 371398.
• Durand, S. (2018). A comprehensive guide to French prepositions.