What preposition do I use to say I am good/bad at (something) in French? en/au/pour/à la

Bonjour à t.Kwiziq community member

What preposition do I use to say I am good/bad at (something) in French? en/au/pour/à la

I am trying to figure out how to say "I am good/bad at (something)" in French. There seems to be discrepancies between sources online about what prepositions to use.

For example, I searched "I am good at piano" on an online translator. It gave me many options: Je suis doué pour piano, je suis bon au piano, je suis bon en piano, and je suis doué en piano. I know that you use different prepositions depending on what adjective is used (doué vs bon), but why does this translator give so many options, and which ones are correct?

Also, for example, to say "I am bad at guitar", the translator says you can say either je suis mauvais à la guitarre OR je suis mauvais en guitarre. Which one of these is correct?

Basically, which of these prepositions (en/au/à la/pour) do you use when saying je suis nul/mauvais/bon/doué AT something?

Thank you!

Asked 1 week ago
CélineKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour,

Thank you for a very interesting question and for reaching out! It's great to see your enthusiasm for understanding the nuances of French prepositions which can be tricky.

While we'd love to provide a detailed explanation, Kwiziq is designed to work alongside our adaptive testing system, which helps tailor lessons to your specific needs. Therefore, we encourage you to explore our website and take advantage of our sorter test.

For general language learning queries and discussions, you might find our community forums helpful. Just remember to review our community guidelines before participating.

Bonne journée !

Bonjour à t. asked:

What preposition do I use to say I am good/bad at (something) in French? en/au/pour/à la

I am trying to figure out how to say "I am good/bad at (something)" in French. There seems to be discrepancies between sources online about what prepositions to use.

For example, I searched "I am good at piano" on an online translator. It gave me many options: Je suis doué pour piano, je suis bon au piano, je suis bon en piano, and je suis doué en piano. I know that you use different prepositions depending on what adjective is used (doué vs bon), but why does this translator give so many options, and which ones are correct?

Also, for example, to say "I am bad at guitar", the translator says you can say either je suis mauvais à la guitarre OR je suis mauvais en guitarre. Which one of these is correct?

Basically, which of these prepositions (en/au/à la/pour) do you use when saying je suis nul/mauvais/bon/doué AT something?

Thank you!

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Clever stuff happening!