How to use EN and DANS like a brilliant francophone

HOW TO USE EN AND DANS LIKE A BRILLIANT FRANCOPHONE

So, have you ever felt confused about these two little words, DANS and EN?

It can be quite frustrating, no?

Today, I was just asked in my Conversation Club: “Je voudrais bien savoir – la différence entre l’usage de ‘dans’ et ‘en’.”

The issue is that they both can mean IN, so when to use which, and, for the love of all things holly, do we need two words to say the same thing?

Read the article below to get clarity about when to use EN and DANS like a brilliant francophone, and watch the video for some necessary French.

(This week: the verb FALLOIR – to be necessary)

When to use EN

1. EN expresses the length of time an action happens:

Je peux manger en cinq minutes. (I can eat in five minutes.)
Elle a lu le livre en un mois. (She read the book in a month.)
J’avais appris à chanter en un an. (I had learned how to sing in a year.)

2. EN expresses the month, season or year when an action happens. Exception: “au printemps”:

Nous voyageons en juin. (We travel in June.)
Il nous appellera en automne. (He will call us in the fall.)

3. EN can mean “in” or “to” when followed directly by a noun that doesn’t need an article:

Tu vas en prison! (You’re going to prison!)
Elle est en classe. (She is in school.)

4. EN can also mean “in” or “to” when used with some states, provinces, and countries:

Ma mère habite en Californie. (My mom lives in California.)
Nous allons en France. (We go to France.)

When to use DANS

1. DANS indicates the amount of time before an action will occur:

Nous partons dans 15 minutes. (We leave in 15 minutes.)
Mon père reviendra dans une heure et demie. (My dad will be back in an hour and a half.)
Elle va commencer dans trois semaines. (She will start in 3 weeks.)

2. DANS refers to something that occurs within or during a decade:

Dans les années soixante… (In the sixties… )
Dans les années quatre-vingt… (During the eighties…)

3. DANS means “in” a location when followed by an article plus noun:

Le chat est dans la maison. (The cat is in the house.)
Qu’est-ce qui est dans cette boîte ? (What’s in this box?)

4. DANS also means “in” or “to” with some states and provinces:

J’habite dans le Maine. (I live in Maine.)
Je vais dans l’Ontario. (I go to Ontario.)

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Post a comment below, and give us an example of a sentence using EN or DANS. Be sure to make a sentence that is true for you, reflective of the reality in your life. : )

Let me guess.

Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?

Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.