À l’automne vs en automne vs l’automne ?

Question

Bonjour, I see there’s an example with “à l’automne” in this lesson, but in another lesson specifically about seasons it says we can use en/le/la/l’ + été, automne, hiver and au + printemps so why is there à l’automne in this lesson? I’m confused.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Thy,
The lesson on "Prochain/Dernier = Next/Last + [durations] in French" is specifically looking at how to express "next/last" +  [generic duration term] (month, week, year, season...) while the lesson on En/l'/au with seasons (French Articles and Prepositions) looks at how to express seasons in general.

À l' / L'automne prochain = Next Autumn
À l' / L'automne dernier = Last Autumn
En / L'automne = In the Autumn

I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !