Usage of à vs de in saying you are in the city

Shai F.A2Kwiziq community member

Usage of à vs de in saying you are in the city

Usage of à vs de.

The lecture above says this:

Note that you use à when describing going to or being in a city.
And you use de to indicate being, coming or returning from a city.

I'm confused. I thought we use à to say we are in a city. Why is it also used in "de"?

This question relates to:French lesson "À = To/in and De = From/of with cities in French (French Prepositions of Location)"

Asked 1 week ago

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CécileKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Shai,

We have added 'from' after being and coming in the lesson, as it makes things clearer, I think.

If you are from a city (being from) you will say -

Je suis de Paris = I am from Paris

But if you were in the city, you would say -

Je suis à Paris = I am in Paris

If you come from a city, you will say -

Je viens de Paris = I come from Paris

Hope this helps!

Like01 week ago

Shai F. asked: