bonsoir!pourquoi ¨je vais en ville

Anastasios P.A1Kwiziq community member

bonsoir!pourquoi ¨je vais en ville

Mais ¨Je vais au soupermarchè
Asked 6 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Je vais en ville. -- I go into town.

The "en" connotes a more general location than "à" or "dans".
Another example of the same ilk:

Je suis en classe. -- I am in class.
Je suis dans la classe. -- I am in the classroom.

Je vais au supermarché -- I go to the supermarket.

This is a very specific location you are referring to: hence "à" and not "en". Yet another example:

Je vais venir en voiture. -- I am going to come by car.
Je suis dans la voiture. -- I am in the car.

I hope this helps to elucidate the difference in meaning.

-- Chris (not a native speaker but one who loves infrequently used English words. :)

AurélieNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Anastasio! 

To complete Chris's answer :)

"en" and "au" mean two different things here:

en = (in)to, in

au = to the, in the

Here are links to our related lessons:

https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/revision/grammar/prepositions-locations-dans-versus-en

https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/revision/grammar/contractions-of-articles-a-le-au-a-les-aux-de-le-du-de-les-des

I hope that's helpful!

À bientôt !

Ron T.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Anastasio, C'est une très bonne question. J'ai fait une recherche de fichiers sur le Web et je n'en a pas trouvé la bonne réponse. Bonne chance,

bonsoir!pourquoi ¨je vais en ville

Mais ¨Je vais au soupermarchè

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