What is à?

à is a versatile character with several distinct roles, primarily in French. It can function as:

• Preposition: Most commonly, à serves as a preposition meaning "to," "at," or "in." For example, "Je vais à Paris" (I'm going to Paris). More on Preposition%20Usage.
• Accent Mark: The grave accent (\ ) on the letter a (à) distinguishes it from the word a (has). This accent mark does not change the pronunciation of the a in this instance, but serves to differentiate homophones. More on Grave%20Accent.
• Part of Contractions: à contracts with definite articles le and les to form au (à + le) and aux (à + les) respectively. For instance, "Je parle au professeur" (I speak to the professor). More on French%20Contractions.