French Prepositions with Geographical Names
Geographical prepositions
Deciding which French preposition to use with countries, cities, and other geographical
names can be somewhat confusing, at least until now! This lesson will explain which
prepositions to use and why.
Like all French nouns, geographical names like countries, states, and provinces have a
gender. Knowing the gender of each geographical name is the first step in determining
which preposition to use. As a general guideline, geographical names which end in e are
feminine, while those that end in any other letter are masculine. There are, of course,
exceptions which simply have to be memorized. See the individual lessons for explanations
of the gender of each geographical name.
In English, we use three different prepositions with geographical names, depending on what
we are trying to say.
1. I'm going to France - Je vais en France
2. I'm in France - Je suis en France
3. I'm from France - Je suis de France
However, in French numbers 1 and 2 take the same preposition. Whether you are going to
France or you are in France, the same preposition is used. Thus in French there are only
two prepositions to choose from for each type of geographical name. The difficulty lies in
knowing which preposition to use for a city vs a state vs a country.
French Prepositions with Countries and Continents
Which preposition should you use with a country or continent?
When trying to determine which preposition to use with a country or continent, the only
difficulty is in knowing its gender.
Nearly all countries that end in e are feminine and the rest are masculine. There are just a
few exceptions:






le
le
le
le
le
le
Belize
Cambodge
Mexique
Mozambique
Zaïre
Zimbabwe
All continents end in e and all are feminine.
Once you know the gender, it is a simple matter to decide which preposition to use.*
1. Masculine and plural countries take à or de plus the appropriate definite article.
> Except for masculine countries that begin with a vowel, which take en to mean to/in
and d' to mean from.
2. Feminine countries and continents take en or de with no article.
Country is:
To or In From
masculine and starts with consonant au
du
masculine and starts with vowel
en
d'
feminine
en
de / d'
plural
aux
des
Examples:
Masculine country Feminine country Plural country Continent
Je vais au Togo.
Elle va en Chine.
Il va aux Fidji.
Tu vas en Asie.
Je suis au Togo.
Elle est en Chine.
Il est aux Fidji.
Tu es en Asie.
Je suis du Togo.
Elle est de Chine.
Il est des Fidji.
Tu es d'Asie.
French Prepositions with States and Provinces
Which preposition should you use with an American state or Canadian province?
In order to decide which preposition to use with an American state or Canadian province,
you must first determine its gender, which is a matter of memorization: all but nine states
and five provinces/territories are masculine (see the list of states and list of provinces at
the end of this packet to find out which are feminine).
1. Masculine states and provinces can be preceded by either dans le or au to mean to/in,
and du to mean from unless they start with a vowel (see 2, below).
Exceptions: dans/de l'état de New York, dans/de l'état de Washington: these are said
this way to distinguish between the cities and the states by the same name.
2. Masculine states/provinces that start with a vowel can take either en or dans l' for
to/in, and d' or de l' to mean from.
3. All feminine states/provinces take en (to, in) and de or de la (from).
Meaning
State/Province is:
To or In
From
masculine and starts with consonant dans le / au du
masculine and starts with vowel
dans l' / en
de l' / d'
feminine
en
de
Examples:
Masculine
Feminine
Je vais dans le Nevada. Je suis en Floride.
Il est du Québec.
Exceptions
Je travaille dans l'état de New York.
Elle est de Géorgie. Il est de l'état de Washington.
Nous sommes en Illinois.
Es-tu d'Arizona ?
Note: Islands follow their own rules.
French Prepositions with Cities and Islands
Which preposition should you use with cities and islands?
Unlike most geographical names, the gender of an island (whether it's a state, province, or
country) or a city does not affect which preposition must be used.
The prepositions à and de (or d') are always used with cities and singular islands, while aux
and des are used with plural islands.
To / In From
city or singular island à
de / d'
plural islands
des
aux
Examples:
City
Singular Island
J'habite à Paris. Je vais à Hawaï.
Je suis de Paris. Je suis d'Hawaï.
Plural Islands
Je vais aux Îles Cook.
Je suis des Îles Cook.
List of U.S. states
les États-Unis (d'Amérique) United States (of America)
Here are the 50 US states as said in French. Most states are masculine; only the nine in
italics are feminine. Knowing the gender will help you choose the correct definite article and
geographical prepositions to use with each state. The English names are provided (in
parentheses) only when not identical to the French spelling.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Californie (California)
Caroline du Nord (North Carolina)
Caroline du Sud (South Carolina)
Colorado
Connecticut
Dakota du Nord (North Dakota)
Dakota du Sud (South Dakota)
Delaware
Floride (Florida)
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
l'état de New York* (New York [State])
Nouveau-Mexique (New Mexico)
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Géorgie (Georgia)
Pennsylvanie (Pennsylvania)
Hawaï (Hawaii)
Rhode Island
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiane (Louisiana)
Vermont
Virginie (Virginia)
Virginie-Occidentale (West Virginia)
l'état de Washington* (Washington [State])
Wisconsin
Wyoming
List of Canadian Provinces and Territories
Here are the 13 Canadian provinces and territories as said in French. The six listed in italics
are feminine. Knowing the gender will help you choose the correct definite article and
geographical prepositions to use with each province and territory.
Alberta
Alberta
Colombie britannique
British Columbia
l'île du Prince-Édouard
Manitoba
Prince Edward Island
Manitoba
(territoires du) Nord-Ouest
Nouveau-Brunswick
Nouvelle-Écosse
Nunavut
Northwest Territories
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ontario
Ontario
Québec
Quebec
Saskatchewan*
Saskatchewan
Terre-Neuve et Labrador
(territoire du) Yukon
Newfoundland and Labrador
Yukon Territory