Learn French: Describe Rooms and Furniture with Prepositions and Adjectives
Say what is in a room and where it is, using French prepositions of place and common adjectives, with examples like 'Il y a une petite table près de la fenêtre.'
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
In this lesson you will learn to describe the inside of a room: what furniture is there and exactly where it is. The key pattern is il y a ('there is' or 'there are') plus a noun, an adjective and a preposition of place. French adjectives usually follow the noun, but a small group of very common adjectives, including petit and grand, come before it. You will also practise prepositions such as près de, à côté de, sous and devant. All examples use standard contemporary French; regional notes are given where usage differs.
By the end, you can…
- say what furniture is in a room using il y a.
- place furniture with prepositions such as près de, à côté de, sous and devant.
- add simple adjectives like petit, grand and ancien in the correct position.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Il y a une petite table près de la fenêtre.
There is a small table by the window.
eel ee ah ewn puh-TEET tabluh preh duh lah fuh-NETR
The core pattern: il y a + noun + adjective + preposition + place. Petit comes before the noun.
Le canapé est à côté du fauteuil.
The sofa is next to the armchair.
luh kah-nah-PAY eh ah ko-TAY doo foh-TUH-yuh
à côté de contracts with le to make du: à côté du fauteuil. Use de la with feminine nouns.
Il y a une grande armoire dans la chambre.
There is a large wardrobe in the bedroom.
eel ee ah ewn grahnd ar-MWAR dahn lah SHAHN-bruh
Grande agrees with the feminine noun armoire. Dans means 'in' for a room or enclosed space.
Les clés sont sur la commode.
The keys are on the chest of drawers.
lay klay son sewr lah ko-MOD
Sur means 'on' a surface. Sont is the plural form of est ('is').
Il y a un vieux tapis sous le lit.
There is an old rug under the bed.
eel ee ah un vyuh tah-PEE soo luh lee
Vieux means 'old' for a masculine noun and comes before it. Sous means 'under'.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
Use il y a to introduce something: Il y a un lit. ('There is a bed.') Add an adjective: Il y a un petit lit. Add a preposition of place: Il y a un petit lit près de la porte. ('There is a small bed near the door.') Most adjectives follow the noun, as in une table ancienne ('an old table'), but petit, grand, beau, jeune, vieux and nouveau normally come before it. Remember agreement: une petite table, un petit bureau.
When to use it
Use these structures to describe a room, give directions in a home, or say where an object is. Dans la cuisine, il y a une grande table à côté de la fenêtre. ('In the kitchen, there is a large table next to the window.') For a single object, use est: Le canapé est devant la télévision. ('The sofa is in front of the television.') In Quebec and in much informal European French, you may hear il y a pronounced quickly as y'a, but il y a remains the standard written form everywhere.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Tu peux décrire le salon ?
Can you describe the living room?tew puh day-KREER luh sah-LONOui. Il y a un grand canapé à côté de la fenêtre.
Yes. There is a large sofa next to the window.wee. eel ee ah un grahn kah-nah-PAY ah ko-TAY duh lah fuh-NETREt il y a une table ?
And is there a table?ay eel ee ah ewn tabluhOui, une petite table est devant le canapé.
Yes, a small table is in front of the sofa.wee, ewn puh-TEET tabluh eh duh-VAHN luh kah-nah-PAYA little context goes a long way
French homes often have a canapé in the salon and a commode in the chambre. In France, un appartement may be described by the number of pièces (rooms), while in Quebec and Belgium, une pièce is also standard, though chambre strictly means a bedroom. Avoid calling a living room une salle de bain; that is a bathroom.
One thing to watch for
Saying 'Il y a une table petite près de la fenêtre' by putting every adjective after the noun.
Try this instead: Petit is one of the adjectives that normally comes before the noun: Il y a une petite table près de la fenêtre. Adjectives such as ancien or carré follow the noun: une table ancienne, une table carrée.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1Translate: 'There is a large wardrobe in the bedroom.'
Show a sample answer
Il y a une grande armoire dans la chambre.
Il y a introduces the object; grande agrees with the feminine armoire and comes before it; dans la chambre means 'in the bedroom'. You could also say une armoire dans la chambre without grande.
2Fill in the blank: Le canapé est ___ la fenêtre. (next to)
Show a sample answer
à côté de
À côté de means 'next to'. Before a masculine noun it contracts: à côté du lit. Before a feminine noun it stays de: à côté de la fenêtre.
3Make this plural: Il y a un petit tapis sous le lit.
Show a sample answer
Il y a des petits tapis sous le lit.
Un becomes des, and petit becomes petits to agree with the plural tapis. Sous le lit does not change.
Use il y a to say what is in a room, add an adjective in the right position, and finish with a preposition of place such as près de, à côté de, sous or devant.
Progress is saved on this browser.
Practice real time conversations on Yapr for faster learning.
Put today’s French into a conversation with an AI tutor. Speak, make mistakes, and try again.
Practice on Yapr