French Prepositions for countries, cities, regions

June 2011 Grammar Corner:
French Prepositions for countries, cities, regions
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French Prepositions for countries, cities, regions
Why do you say “Je vais en France” but “Je vais au Japon”? As any inanimate object, continents,
countries, regions also have genders in French. The ending will usually tell you which is feminine
or masculine and help you choose the correct prepostion of place.
A - General rule
When the name of a region ends in a E, it’s usually feminine.
La France, l’Angleterre, la Suise, la Chine, l’Inde, la Californie, l’Asie
* To say you’re going TO it, use EN:
Je vais... en France, en Italie, en Afrique, en Floride...
* To say you’re there, use EN:
Je suis... en France, en Italie, en Afrique, en Floride...
* To say you’re coming from it, use DE:
Je viens de France, d’Italie, d’Afrique, de Floride...
When the name of a region ends in any other vowel but E, or a consonant, it’s usually masculine.
Le Canada, le Japon, le Portugal, le Burundi, le Luxembourg, le Texas
* To say you’re going TO it, use AU:
Je vais... au Niger, au Brésil, au Maroc, au Congo
* To say you’re there, use AU:
Je suis... au Niger, au Brésil, au Maroc, au Congo
* To say you’re coming from it, use DU:
Je viens... du Niger, du Brésil, du Maroc, du Congo
When a masculine country starts with a vowel or an H, use the rules of the feminine countries
L’Iran, l’Ouganda, Oman, Angola, Israël
* Je vais en Iran, je viens d’Angola, je suis en Israël
For more info on country gender, please see this official list
http://publications.europa.eu/code/fr/fr-5000500.htm
www.thinkfrench.com
B - Particular cases
Unfortunately, there are too many exceptions to be listed... So be ready to face many particular cases. Here are
some pointers
1 - Plural names
A few names of regions are plural. Most plural regions end in an S, but not all regions ending in an S are plural (le
Laos, L’Arkansas)... So with plural regions, here is the rule
Les Etats-Unis, les Maldives, les Pays-Bas, Les Philippines...
* To say you’re going TO it, use AUX:
Je vais... aux Etats-Unis, aux Maldives
* To say you’re there, use AUX:
Je suis... aux Etats-Unis, aux Maldives
* To say you’re coming from it, use DES: Je viens... des Etats-Unis, des Maldives
Note the pronunciation of les Etats-Unis - there are 2 strong liaisons in Z, whether its introduced by les, aux or des
= Zéta Zuni
2 - Cities
Cities are usually not introduced by any article, and usually féminine.
Paris est belle (because here Paris refers to “la ville de Paris”).
* For most cities, to say you’re going TO it, use à: Je vais... à Paris, à Tokyo, à New-York
* To say you’re IN it, use à:
Je suis... à Paris, à Tokyo, à New-York
* To say you’re from it, use DE:
Je viens... de Paris, de Tokyo, de New-York
But some cities include an article in their name - Le Havre, le Caire, La Paz, Les Andelys... For these usually the
article contracts with the à, becoming au, du etc...
3 - Islands
Are messy business in French... !! Many don’t have any article, and will be introduced by à or de
Je vais à Cuba, à Haïti, à Madagascar
But some are masculine:
Je vais au Japon
And some are feminine:
Je vais en Corse
And other plural:
Je vais aux Maldives
So it’s more like a case by case senario...
4 - Regions and States
Usually follow the general rules for gender.
La Provence, Le Sussex, l’Oregon.
Note that in the US, the states are masculine except:
La Floride, La Californie, La Caroline du Sud, La Caroline du Nord, La Louisiane, la Georgie, la Viginie occidentale
(West Virginia), la Virginie Orientale (Virginia), La Pennsylvanie.
But watch out... Le Maine.
For prespositions used with regions and states, it’s very difficult to say there is a rule per say... We tend not to use
à, but rather en, au, aux or dans le, dans la, dans les... It’s really a matter of customs, not grammar.
Au Texas, dans le Maine, en Bourgogne, en Californie, dans la Creuse....
w w w. thi nk frenc h. com