As a French learner, deciding which preposition to use with locations, such as cities and countries, can be frustrating. Getting to grips with why we make these choices will help us make the correct decision.
The Coffee Break French Show is a podcast series of bite-sized, friendly conversations, in which we demystify tricky French language topics. In the latest episode, Mark and Max explore the nuances of using prepositions before cities, countries, islands and continents.
We hope that you find this article useful as your roadmap to prepositions for cities and countries in French. Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?
Cities
In French, cities generally take the preposition à. For example:
Tu habites à Paris ?
Do you live in Paris?
Je veux aller à New York.
I want to go to New York.
However, there are a few points to remember. As you may know, à + le becomes au, so cities starting with Le (for example Le Caire – Cairo) require a contraction after à. For example:
J’habite au Caire.
I live in Cairo.
Je vais au Mans.
I’m going to Le Mans.
These contractions apply exclusively to cities that begin with Le. Other well-known examples are Le Cap (Cape Town) and the French port town of Le Havre.
You may have noticed something crucial from all of these examples: à can translate as “in” or “to”. There is only one option for the preposition in French, covering the idea of both being “in” and going “to” a city.
Countries
Describing countries in French involves a bit more nuance.
Feminine countries
For feminine countries (usually these can be spotted because they end in –e), the preposition en is used. These include:
en France
in / to France
en Espagne
in / to Spain
en Argentine
in / to Argentina
Masculine countries
On the other hand, masculine countries (generally those not ending in -e) typically take the preposition au. Examples include:
au Portugal
in / to Portugal
au Canada
in / to Canada
au Chili
in / to Chile
Note that some countries’ names end with an -e but they are masculine. These all use au, similar to other masculine countries. There are six of these exceptions, and they are:
le Mexique
Mexico
le Bélize
Belize
le Cambodge
Cambodia
le Mozambique
Mozambique
le Suriname
Suriname
le Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Countries starting with a vowel
There is another exception for countries starting with a vowel. Regardless of gender, en is used. For example:
en Uruguay
in / to Uruguay
en Afghanistan
in / to Afghanistan
Plural countries
When it comes to plural forms, gender becomes irrelevant, and the preposition aux is applied. For instance:
aux États-Unis
in / to the USA
aux Philippines
in / to the Philippines
aux Pays-Bas
in / to the Netherlands
Islands
The rule for islands is straightforward. Singular islands take à, while plural islands take aux. For instance:
à Madagascar
in / to Madagascar
aux Maldives
in / to the Maldives
Continents
Finally, continents in French take the preposition en:
en Europe
in / to Europe
en Afrique
in / to Africa
en Asie
in / to Asia
Let’s review
We hope that you now feel more confident using prepositions with place names in French.
Remember these key points and you will have a good start:
- à for cities and islands
- en for feminine countries, all countries starting with a vowel, and continents
- au for masculine countries (except those that begin with a vowel)
- aux for plural countries and islands
Remember, we all make mistakes, and French speakers will still understand you if you get this wrong. However, the more you master using prepositions with places, the more comfortable you will be and the more natural you will sound when you speak French.
If you found this post interesting, make sure to listen to the full episode with Mark and Max on The Coffee Break French Show. This is the series in which we look at a range of topics for French learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.
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Bonne chance et bon voyage !
Happy Coffee Breaking!
