Le/la/l, vs au/à la / à l,

Rose Marie H.A2Kwiziq community member

Le/la/l, vs au/à la / à l,

Still not answered: for seasons under what conditions we & do not you use à with definite article. Examples do not clarify

Asked 11 months ago
CécileKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Shannon and Rose,

You cannot say -

à l'hiver/le printemps/l'été/l'automne prochain ou dernier

l'été/ l'hiver/le printemps/l'automne/dernier ou prochain is sufficient to express 

last or next winter/spring/summer/autumn

This is true when you are talking about a specific temporal season.

But if you were talking about what you do in winter ( in general) or in the spring, summer or autumn generally, you would use -

En hiver, je fais du ski = In winter, I go skiing 

En été je vais à la plage = In summer, I go to the beach

Au printemps, j'aime  jardiner = In the spring, I like to garden

En automne, je m'occupe de ma maison = In the autumn, I look after my house

I hope this answers both of your queries.

 

CécileKwiziq Native French Teacher

Hi Rose Marie, 

I am not sure that I understand your question but if you're looking to say 'in winter', 'in the spring', etc. please take a look at the following lesson -

En/l'/au with seasons (French Articles and Prepositions)

Let me know if we can help any further.

Shannon G.C1Kwiziq community member

I believe the person above is referring to the same thing that’s causing me confusion. The lesson says that you can use the following:

l' + [été/automne/hiver] + dernier / prochain
l'/à l' + [automne] + dernier / prochain

Can you not also say “à l’été dernier” or “à l’hiver dernier” ?  Is this construction only reserved for automne?

Thank you!

Rose Marie H. asked:

Le/la/l, vs au/à la / à l,

Still not answered: for seasons under what conditions we & do not you use à with definite article. Examples do not clarify

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