How to use dans and en with locations in French
Dans (+ un/une, le/la/l'/les, des) and en are both used to mean in a location (town, class...).
Look at these contrasting examples:
The nuance between dans la and en is as follows:
- dans + [article] + [noun] refers to the physical place or building - i.e. inside.
= in/inside/at + the/a/his + [place]
= in/inside/at + the/a/his + [place]
- en + [noun] refers to a place in general, or to the function represented by the place.
= in [place]
= in [place]
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