Do city names have gender?

D. A.B2Kwiziq community member

Do city names have gender?

According to the lesson below, you have to use de/du depending on a country's gender. Is it the same for cities? https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/my-languages/french/tests/results/1861632/system?quick-lesson-popup=1
Asked 6 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Vernon,

Although you don't need to worry about the gender of most towns or cities in the expression , 'Venir de', as in the case of single word places it will always be

Je viens de Paris, je viens de Londres, je viens d'Amsterdam, je viens de Nice ...

In the case of towns which use an article in their name it will be,

je viens du Havre (because the town is Le Havre )

Je viens de La Rochelle ( because the town is La Rochelle)  

je viens des Sables d'Olonne ( the town is Les Sables d'Olonne) etc...

When you start talking about towns and cities or describing them you will need to use a gender and some will be feminine or masculine. Some will have an article in front of them like, La Havane , La RochelleLe Creusot which will determine whether they are feminine or masculine. Some will have an adjective in their name like, Mantes-la-Jolie which will indicate their gender. But in the majority of single word cases, there are no rules to indicate whether a city or town is masculine or feminine except when you use the adjectives 'vieux', 'grand', 'nouveau' or 'tout' in front of  them which  will always be masculine in this case, e.g. Le Vieux Nice, le grand Bruxelles, le nouveau Belleville, Le tout-Paris...

Hope this helps!

 

Ron T.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonsoir Vernon, Yes, city names have a gender. which is covered in a different lesson at the A1 level; here is that lesson link: À = To/in and De = From/of with cities in French (French Prepositions of Location) J'espère que ma réponse vous aiderait. Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisée par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet Ron (un locuteur non natif )
Desi :.A0Kwiziq community member

Aarushi A.A1Kwiziq community member

Is Dakar city masculine or feminine

D. A. asked:View original

Do city names have gender?

According to the lesson below, you have to use de/du depending on a country's gender. Is it the same for cities? https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/my-languages/french/tests/results/1861632/system?quick-lesson-popup=1

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