Is there away of knowing when to use en/ Dan's when refering to some of the above examples? Why would it not be right to say "Je crois dans la vie après la mort??
Use of en
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Conor O.Kwiziq community member
Use of en
This question relates to:French lesson "Conjugate croire in the present tense in French (Le Présent)"
Asked 5 years ago
Hi Conor,
Just to add to Chris’ excellent answer, the expression is -
‘croire en quelque chose’ = to believe in something
For instance -
Je crois en Dieu = I believe in God
Il croit en nous = He believes in us
Hope this helps!
Chris W. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
En is a general "in", it can also be used figuratively. Dans is the more literal spatial preposition "in".
In the sentence "to believe in life after death", the preposition "in" is not a literal "inside" and therefore en is the appropriate preposition to use.
Here is another example which demonstrates the difference nicely:
Être en prison. -- to be imprisoned.
Être dans la prison. -- to be inside the prison building (not necessarily as an inmate).
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