Spot the mistake
A flat with two desks: spot the French location error
Correct eight French location words using an explicit two-desk layout. Distinguish on, under and inside, with a written key for every object.
- A1
- 8 sentences
- Tap the wrong word
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In short
Sur means on, sous means under and dans means inside. Use the room key to correct one preposition in each sentence. Here, bureau A and bureau B are two desks, so dans le bureau refers to a position inside the piece of furniture, rather than inside an office room.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Two desks stand in the same flat. Their objects are deliberately different so that you can identify both the desk and the relationship. The written layout below is the reference for every answer. The French sentences each contain one location word that contradicts that layout.
| Position | Desk A | Desk B |
|---|---|---|
| On top | une lampe ; un livre | une tasse ; un vase |
| Underneath | un sac | un panier |
| Inside its drawer | des clés | des enveloppes |
Tap the word that's wrong in each sentence.
The lamp is on desk A.
The room key places the lamp on A’s top surface. Use sur, rather than sous.
The bag is under desk A.
The bag is below desk A, so the location word must be sous.
The keys are in desk A’s drawer.
The keys are inside the drawer, which requires dans in this layout.
The book is on desk A.
Bureau A is the desk, and the book rests on its surface: sur le bureau A.
The cup is on desk B.
The cup belongs on top of desk B in the supplied room key.
The basket is under desk B.
The basket stands below B rather than on its top, so use sous.
The envelopes are in desk B’s drawer.
The envelopes are stored inside the drawer; dans gives the listed position.
The vase is on desk B.
The vase is on the top surface of B. Dans would put it inside the desk.
Sur describes contact with the top surface
A lamp or cup can rest on a desk. In this layout, the lamp belongs on A and the cup on B. Sur le bureau tells you the surface relationship; the letter identifies which desk. Keep both details when explaining the room to someone who cannot see your gesture.
Dans selects the drawer’s interior
A drawer contains objects. Les clés sont dans le tiroir du bureau A locates the keys inside A’s drawer. Sur le tiroir would describe a different position, on the drawer itself. The room key fixes the inside meaning, so the correction comes from the given location rather than a guess about where people usually keep keys.
Le sac est sous le bureau A, et les clés sont dans son tiroir.
The bag is under desk A, and the keys are in its drawer.
Sous does not mean inside. It places the bag in the space below the desk. Dans places the keys inside a container. A single piece of furniture can therefore support all three relationships: objects on it, objects beneath it and objects in a drawer.
| French | Relationship |
|---|---|
| sur le bureau | On its surface |
| sous le bureau | Below it |
| dans le tiroir du bureau | Inside its drawer |
When correcting a new description, find the named object in the layout first. Then compare its position with the preposition. Leave the object name, desk letter and correct verb agreement alone. The exercise changes one word because the rest of each sentence already identifies the right thing.