Contraction: à + le = au, à + les = aux

French articles are very picky. They change based on gender and number. The preposition à means "to" or "at." It is a very busy word in French. When à meets a definite article, it might change. It only merges with the masculine le and plural les. The feminine la stays exactly as it is. The vowel-starting l' also keeps its distance. Think of le and les as social butterflies. They love to mix with à. Meanwhile, la and l' are a bit more shy. They prefer to stay separate. You must always check the noun's gender first. Is the place masculine? Is it plural? These questions are your best friends here. If you skip the merger, you sound like a robot. No one wants to sound like a clunky robot. We want that smooth, melodic French flow. It is all about making the language easy to speak. Native speakers do this without thinking. Soon, you will do the same thing too.

1. 1Creating these contractions follows a very simple recipe. Follow these steps to get it right every time:
2. 2Start with the preposition à for "to" or "at."
3. 3Look at the noun that follows the preposition.
4. 4Determine the gender and number of that noun.
5. 5If the noun is masculine singular (le), merge them.
6. 6à + le becomes au. (Pronounced like "oh").
7. 7If the noun is plural (les), merge them too.
8. 8à + les becomes aux. (Also pronounced like "oh").
9. 9If the noun is feminine (la), keep them separate.
10. 10à + la stays à la. No change needed here.
11. 11If the noun starts with a vowel (l'), stay separate.
12. 12à + l' stays à l'. This keeps things clear.
13. 13Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Green means merge for masculine and plural. Red means stop and stay separate for feminine. It is a simple binary choice most of the time. Just remember: au for one guy, aux for many.

You will use these contractions everywhere in daily life. Use au when going to masculine places. Examples include au cinéma, au restaurant, or au parc. You also use it for masculine countries like au Japon. Use aux for plural destinations like aux toilettes. Yes, the bathroom is plural in French. It is a fancy way to live! You also use it for plural countries. Think of aux États-Unis or aux Pays-Bas. It works for specific times of the day too. You might meet someone au coucher du soleil. Even sports use this pattern frequently. You play au football or au tennis. It also applies to flavors in food. Order a croissant au chocolat for a true treat. In a job interview, you might talk au directeur. Use it when giving directions to the driver. "Turn at the signal" becomes au feu. It is truly the Swiss Army knife of prepositions.

Not every noun wants to merge with à. You must keep à la for feminine places. Going to the bank? That is à la banque. Visiting the beach? That is à la plage. If a word starts with a vowel, stop! Do not use au even if it is masculine. We say à l'hôtel because of that silent H. We say à l'aéroport because of the vowel A. Never use these contractions with city names. Cities in French usually do not have articles. You go à Paris or à Lyon. Saying au Paris will make a local wince slightly. It is like wearing socks with sandals. Also, do not use it with people's names. You give a book à Marie, not au Marie. Proper names of people are contraction-free zones. Keep them pure and simple. Lastly, don't use it for possessive meanings. That is a job for the word de. Stick to locations, times, and targets for à.

The biggest mistake is saying à le. It sounds very painful to a French ear. It is the "thou shalt not" of French A1. Another common trap is the silent X. In aux, the X is usually silent. Do not pronounce it like "ox" or "awks." It sounds exactly like the singular au. The only difference is the spelling on paper. Many people forget the feminine exception. They try to say au banque by accident. Remember, the bank is a lady in France! Using au with cities is another classic blunder. Just say à Londres or à Berlin. It is much shorter and much easier. Don't let the silent H trip you up. Words like hôpital or hôtel need à l'. Think of the vowel sound as a shield. It prevents the à and le from merging. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes. Usually, it happens when they are typing too fast. Take your time and check your gender.

You might confuse à with the preposition de. They both love to merge with articles. de + le becomes du, and de + les becomes des. While à means "to" or "at," de means "of" or "from." Think of à as an arrow pointing forward. Think of de as an arrow pointing backward. If you are going au restaurant, you are moving. If you are coming du restaurant, you are returning. They are like mirror images of each other. Another contrast is with the word en. We use en for feminine countries like en France. But we use au for masculine ones like au Canada. This can be a bit of a headache. Just remember: au loves masculine nouns with articles. à is about the destination or the specific point. It is your GPS coordinate in a sentence. Keep the direction clear in your mind.