Languages › French Learn How to Use the French Preposition "Par" Share Flipboard Email Print lechatnoir/Getty Images French Grammar Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Updated April 10, 2018 The French preposition par means "through," "by," or "per" in English. It is used to indicate the manner in which something is done, the reason behind an event, the direction something moves, or the amount of something per some unit of measurement. In everyday conversation, you might use par when giving directions to someone or to describe how an event occurred. Examples of Par Je suis sortie par la porte.I left through/by the door.J'ai appris la verité par hasard.I learned the truth by accident.Il l'a obtenu par la force.He obtained it by force.Je l'ai envoyé par la poste.I sent it through the mail.Il a jeté les déchets par la fenêtre.He threw the garbage though/out the window.Il gagne 500 euros par semaine.He earns 500 euros per week.Par is often used to introduce the agent in the passive voice:Ce livre, écrit par Voltaire...This book, written by Voltaire...La tasse a été cassée par un chien.The cup was broken by a dog. Verbs With Par As with prepositions in English, there are some instances when a verb will also require using par in sentence construction. Some of the most common French verbs are: arriver par to succeed through/bycommencer par + infinitive to begin by ___-ingfaire par (la pitié, l'amour) to do out of (pity, love)finir par + infinitive to end up ___-ing / to finally do somethinghabiter par ici to live around herejurer par to swear byobtenir quelque chose par to obtain something byprendre quelqu'un par (la main) to take someone by (the hand)ressembler par to resemble due tosortir par (la fenêtre) to leave by (the window)venir par (la côte) to come along/by (the coast) Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation ThoughtCo. "Learn How to Use the French Preposition "Par"." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/par-french-preposition-1368918. ThoughtCo. (2020, August 27). Learn How to Use the French Preposition "Par". Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/par-french-preposition-1368918 ThoughtCo. "Learn How to Use the French Preposition "Par"." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/par-french-preposition-1368918 (accessed January 27, 2021). copy citation