Isn't en interchangeable with dans?
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CrystalMaiden 7.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Isn't en interchangeable with dans?
And yet it's a wrong answer.
This question relates to:French lesson "Dans/sur/sous/devant/derrière/entre = in/on top of/under/in front of/behind/between (French Prepositions of Location)"
Asked 6 years ago
No, "en" is not interchangable with "dans". "En" is used in a more general sense to connote the meaning of within. "Dans" is usually quite literally in.
Je suis en classe. -- I am attending a lesson.
Je suis dans la classe. -- I am in the classroom.
Je viens en voiture. -- I come by car.
Je suis dans la voiture. -- I am in the car.
Je suis en prison. -- I am incarcerated.
Je suis dans la prison. -- I am in the prison building (because, maybe, I work there).
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
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