✏️ A or à: the “avait” trick so you never get it wrong again

💡 Memory tricks & memorisation 📅 2 September 2026⏱️ 6 min readKidibook Editorial Team

A 9-year-old boy carefully writes in his notebook at the kitchen table while his mother gently points to a word on the page

Should you write a or à? This question comes up in almost every French dictation from CE1 onwards, and even catches out adults in a hurry. The good news: it’s one of the rare French spelling problems that can be solved with a single, simple test—easy enough for an 8-year-old to use on their own.

This test is the “avait” replacement. Here’s how to explain it to your child, with clear examples, a few common pitfalls to watch out for, and a short exercise you can do together at home this evening.

A or à: two words with completely different roles

They sound the same, but they play very different parts in a sentence.

a, without an accent, is the verb avoir (to have) in the present tense, used with il, elle, on or a singular noun: Léo a un vélo rouge, Maman a fini son travail.
à, with a grave accent, is a preposition: a little word that links other words together. It often shows a place (à la piscine), a time (à midi), the person you’re giving or talking to (à sa sœur), or what something is for (une brosse à dents).

For children, you can sum it up like this: “a” is a verb, it’s part of the action; “à” is a linking word, it never changes. There’s also a third cousin: as, with an s, which is only used with tu: tu as gagné. Tu a is always wrong.

The “avait” trick explained for your child

The idea: replace the tricky word with avait (the verb avoir in the imperfect tense).

If the sentence still makes sense, it’s the verb avoir: write a, no accent.
If the sentence doesn’t make sense anymore, it’s the preposition: write à, with the accent.

Example: Sami … mal … la tête. First gap: Sami avait mal works, so it’s a. Second gap: Sami avait mal avait la tête doesn’t make sense, so it’s à. Result: Sami a mal à la tête.

One thing to clarify for your child: this test checks the grammar, not the time of the action. Hier, Tom a couru becomes Hier, Tom avait couru: it sounds a bit different, but it’s still correct French. That’s all the test is for.

A double-check for the more cautious: put the subject in the plural. Il a un chien becomes Ils ont un chien: the word changes, so it was the verb. Il va à l'école becomes Ils vont à l'école: à stays the same, so it’s the preposition.

Kidibook tipDo the test out loud, not just in your head. Hearing “avait” in the sentence makes mistakes obvious: your ear will spot right away that je vais avait la plage doesn’t work. Add a gesture: touch the tricky word with your finger as you swap it. With practice, your child will do the test automatically.

A 9-year-old girl sits on the carpet sorting cards into two piles, one coral and one blue — Two piles, two colours: sorting fill-in-the-blank sentences into “a” and “à” makes the test hands-on.

Correct examples, put to the test

Here are some everyday sentences, all correct, with the “avait” replacement result. Read them with your child, covering the last column: they do the test, then check their answer.

Correct sentence	With “avait”	Result
Elle a oublié son cartable.	Elle avait oublié son cartable: correct	a, verb avoir
Nous partons à la mer.	Nous partons avait la mer: impossible	à, preposition
Mon chien a quatre ans.	Mon chien avait quatre ans: correct	a, verb avoir
Je dis merci à la maîtresse.	Je dis merci avait la maîtresse: impossible	à, preposition
Il y a du vent.	Il y avait du vent: correct	a, verb avoir
C'est une machine à laver.	C'est une machine avait laver: impossible	à, preposition
Who took my ruler?	Who had taken my ruler? correct	a, verb 'avoir' (to have)
The coach leaves at eight o'clock.	The coach leaves had eight o'clock: impossible	à, preposition

The most common pitfalls

“Il y a” is written without an accent

This phrase is often used to talk about a place (il y a un parc près de l'école), which can make you want to add an accent. But it's actually the verb 'avoir': il y avait un parc works. So il y a is always written without an accent.

Two blanks in the same sentence

Nina a un exposé à préparer. Once your child chooses the first word, they often copy it for the second. Test each word separately: Nina avait un exposé works, but un exposé avait préparer does not.

a mangé or à manger?

When a verb follows, look at its ending. Il a mangé ses pâtes, with é: that's the verb 'avoir' plus the past participle. Il reste des pâtes à manger, with -er: that's the preposition followed by the infinitive. If your child hesitates between é and er, try replacing with prendre: il a pris but des pâtes à prendre.

Au and aux both hide an “à”

Au means à le and aux means à les. This is a handy second check: Je vais à la piscine becomes Je vais au stade when you change the place. If the word can become au, it's the preposition.

A capital “À” keeps its accent

At the start of a sentence, the preposition keeps its accent: À demain !, À quelle heure part le car ? In French, capital letters keep their accents. On the other hand, A-t-il fini ses devoirs ? is written without an accent, since you can say Avait-il fini ses devoirs ?

A quick exercise for tonight

Ten sentences, five minutes. Read each one, let your child choose, then have them say the test out loud before checking the answers.

My brother … lost his eraser.
We're going … the swimming pool on Wednesday.
Chloé … is nine years old.
I gave a drawing … my grandmother.
The cat … is hungry … at noon.
There … is still some cake … to share.
Dad … has a letter … to post.
… see you tomorrow, children!
Who … took my pencil …?
Have you … remembered … your swimsuit?

Answers: 1. a — 2. à — 3. a — 4. à — 5. a, à — 6. a, à — 7. a, à — 8. À — 9. a, à — 10. as, à. The last sentence is a deliberate trick: with tu, the verb 'avoir' is written as, and the test becomes tu avais pensé.

Kidibook tipCopy these sentences onto cards and make two piles in different colours: one for “a”, one for “à”. Your child draws a card, does the test, and puts it on the right pile. Sentences with two blanks go in a third pile, “both”, which quickly becomes their favourite. For more exercises at this level, try our printable CE2 exercises.

What comes after a / à?

The imperfect tense test is a tool you'll use again soon. It also works for et ou est (change “est” to “était”) and son ou sont (change “sont” to “étaient”): same idea, different verb. Your child isn't learning three rules, just one reflex.

Once these pairs are mastered, the CM2 homophones overview shows what's next, with these / ses, on / ont or c'est / s'est. And if your child learns better with a picture or a little phrase, the Kidibook Memory Tricks bring together these kinds of tips, ready to review before a dictation.

Want to put these tips into practice?

Every day, a new adventure workbook adapted to your child's school level — to print or do on screen. No commitment.

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Your questions

Does the “avait” trick always work?

Yes, for choosing between a and à, it's reliable. The only thing to watch is the subject tu: in that case, you write as, and the test becomes avais. If the sentence sounds odd after replacing, that's fine — only the grammar matters.

Should a capital “À” have an accent?

Yes. In French, capital letters keep their accents, and the preposition is written À at the start of a sentence, as in À demain. Only the verb 'avoir' is written A without an accent, for example in A-t-il fini?

Why is “il y a” written without an accent?

Because it's the verb 'avoir', even though the phrase is often used to talk about a place. The test confirms it: il y avait works perfectly. So il y a is always written without an accent.

At what level do children learn to tell the difference between a and à?

This distinction is introduced in CE1 (age 7-8) and revisited each year up to CM2, where it becomes part of the broader topic of grammatical homophones. At home, you can start practising as soon as your child begins writing sentences independently.