# FR: au / en / dans le centre ville



## Sebastian2008

I was looking up how to say "downtown", and on some of the threads and example sentences, there were a few different prepositions used for each one. I can't figure out why they are all different, because I can't read much of the sentences.

I saw:
dans le centre ville
en centre ville 
au centre ville

Can someone help me know which one I need to say "I am going to the downtown" and what the other ones are used for?


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## AnAutisticCat

"Je vais dans le centre-ville" => not correct.

I think "en centre-ville" is better.


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## Oddmania

Hi,

How strange! _*En *centre-ville_ is the one who sounds the most awkward to me. You can say _Je vais en cure de désintoxication_ (maybe because _cure _is feminine), but _en centre-ville _sounds extremely weird.

_Dans le centre-ville_ doesn't sound exactly idiomatic, but I think it'll be understood easily. It's definitely not incorrect at that! You know, it's like_ Elle est à la cuisine _and _Elle est dans la cuisine._ Both are correct, but the latter sounds much more specific, explicit (_Don't turn on the gas, she's still *inside *the kitchen!_)

Anyway, I think _au centre-ville_ is definitely the most common one.

Have a look at this thread.


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## AnAutisticCat

Well in the sentence "je vais...centre ville", saying "dans le" seems very weird. It may be better in ither sentences.
About "en/au", I think it mainly depends of where you live, like some words which are pronounced differently for everyone (like taon).


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## Sebastian2008

So then if you are GOING to the down town, you say "Je vais au centre-ville".  But if you are already IN the downtown, you say "Je suis en centre-ville".  Is that a fair summary?


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## Oddmania

Sebastian2008 said:


> So then if you are GOING to the down town, you say "Je vais au centre-ville".  But if you are already IN the downtown, you say "Je suis en centre-ville".  Is that a fair summary?



As far as I'm concerned, no, I'd say _au _in both cases.


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## Sebastian2008

Ok.  Thanks.  That's what I had done in the first place, before I looked anything up and got confused.  ;-)


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## Maître Capello

I agree with Oddmania: _*au* centre-ville_ is what I would also say, while _*dans* le centre-ville_ is less natural to me and _*en* centre-ville_ even less so, but this doesn't mean they are incorrect!

Anyway, the preposition doesn't depend on whether the verb is a motion verb or a static one.


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## ilie86

Excusez-moi, selon vous "Dans le centre-ville on peut goûter les spécialités de ma ville natale" la préposition dans est incorrecte?

Moi je dirai plutôt "Au centre-ville on peut goûter les spécialités de ma ville natale", mais seulement pour une question de naturalité.

Les deux phrases, sont-elles incorrectes?

Merci


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## thalaivi

Bonjour à tous,

Est-ce que quelqu'un peut me dire si la phrase suivante est bonne

Nous avons rendez-vous en centre-ville

Je pensais que la phrase doit être "Nous avons rendez-vous au centre-ville" car centre-ville est masculin n'est-ce pas?

Merci
Vidya


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## Hspo

au centre-ville


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## Hspo

To my mind 'au' marks the spot on the map, we're thinking of the place to meet or an address (Similar to 'at').
-'en' makes me think of being there, in town 'en ville'. ... I hope you see what I mean.


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## thalaivi

Sorry Hspo... Not really...


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## Hspo

That's ok. Both are correct but I just wanted to point out the nuance between them.

à : à cet endroit, à cette adresse...

I can't think of any other explanations. Sorry.


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## thalaivi

So I can actually say rendez-vous en centre ville? As in I have a meeting in the the center of the city even if the noun itself is masculin

Again sorry but I don't get it...


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## joelooc

en ville = au centre ville
*en* centre ville
j'habite en ville (as opposed to j'habite (à) la campagne
J'habite le centre ville


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## Hspo

centre-ville - traduction - Dictionnaire Français-Anglais WordReference.com


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## dgsavoie

I would agree with Hspo. "au centre ville" would be a precise spot like "au centre commercial". I wouldn't use it for a big city, just for a city with a very small downtown. 
"Dans le centre (ville)" ou "en centre ville" would be more a general area, a part of the town (somewhere downtown).


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