In: Level A1, Prepositions & Conjunctions, Préposition

We know that countries and continents have genders in French [see Continents, countries, regions & states are masculine, feminine or plural (gender)]

Note that while we always use in and to in English for cities and countries, in French we use different prepositions for one or the other.
We use à with cities Using 'à' (to/in) and 'de' (from/of) with cities (prepositions), it's a bit more complicated when it comes to countries.

Have a look at these examples:

Je vais en France ce weekend.
I'm going to France this weekend.

Il est en Angleterre maintenant.
He's in England now.

On est au Portugal.
We are in Portugal.

Vous allez aux États-Unis.
You are going to the United States.

Ils vont au Pays de Galles.
They are going to Wales.

Here are the rules:

- en is used with feminine countries (the ones ending in -e, except for Mexique, Cambodge, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Belize) and continents (all of them are feminine)

- au is used with masculine countries

ATTENTION:

For pronunciation reasons, you will use en with masculine countries starting with a vowel:

Mon ami Sahid vit en Iran.
My friend Sahid lives in Iran.

J'ai passé mon été en Ouganda.
I spent my summer in Uganda.

- aux is used with plural countries

Note that Le Québec behaves like a country, even though it's a province:

Martine habite au Québec.
Martine lives in Quebec.

See also the related lesson: En, dans = In, to with regions, states, counties (prepositions)

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Préposition

Examples and resources

Jacqueline Doiron of FrenchByPhone.com presents "Prepositions with names of countries" = Jacqueline Doiron de FrenchByPhone.com présent "Les prepositions et les noms de pays"

Il est en Angleterre maintenant.
He's in England now.

Je voudrais voyager en Amérique du sud.
I would like to travel in South America.

Je vais en Afrique l'été prochain.
I'm going to Africa next summer.

Vous allez aux États-Unis.
You are going to the United States.

Simon va au Mexique.
Simon is going to Mexico.

Je vais en France ce weekend.
I'm going to France this weekend.

Martin habite aux Pays-Bas.
Martin lives in the Netherlands.

Martine habite au Québec.
Martine lives in Quebec.

Ils vont au Pays de Galles.
They are going to Wales.

Ce film se passe en Inde.
This film takes place in India.

Mon ami Sahid vit en Iran.
My friend Sahid lives in Iran.

On est au Portugal.
We are in Portugal.

Mon oncle vit en Asie.
My uncle lives in Asia.

J'ai passé mon été en Ouganda.
I spent my summer in Uganda.

Q&A Forum 8 questions, 22 answers

RobertA2Kwiziq community member

Countries and regions

So Mexique, Cambodge, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Belize are masculine although they end in -e; Qubec, Texas and New Mexico are countries but California is not. It's le Merseyside but not le Bordeaux. Turkey is outside Europe (not entirely I think) and a turkey is from India. You really couldn't make up something more ridiculous than this if you tried.

I felt I was making good progress with this course but now I am bogged down with endless questions about places that don't interest me and loosing the will to live. I accept that fluent french speakers may need this but I can barely conjugate faire yet, surely this content should be moved to C1?

I am going to write myself out a big crib sheet and cheat - hopefully I can convince the quizzbot I know this stuff so I can move on to something more useful.

Asked 3 weeks ago

Like0Answer2

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I feel your frustration -- been there, done that.

You could assemble topics you like to study in a notebook and then study the notebook. But the cheat sheet is a nice idea, too.

Like03 weeks ago

AurélieKwiziq team member

Bonjour Robert !

I understand your frustration, as French is nothing but riddled with exceptions to the rule :)
When teaching a rule such as prepositions with countries or regions, we cannot omit the exceptional cases which don't follow that rule.
However, as you pointed out, this lesson is A1, meaning that our testing usually focuses on the main application of the rule, and not more obscure exceptions.
Therefore, if you understands the main agreement rule, there is no reason for you not to get to the next level :)
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !

Like03 weeks ago

Robert asked:View original

Countries and regions

I am going to write myself out a big crib sheet and cheat - hopefully I can convince the quizzbot I know this stuff so I can move on to something more useful.

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MelisaA2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

États-Unis

"For pronunciation reasons, you will use en with masculine countries starting with a vowel" yet États-Unis is using aux. Is that only because it is plural?

Asked 11 months ago

Like0Answer4

AlanC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

I guess the point is that there is no issue with pronunciation when using aux, because the 'x' will be pronounced as 'z'.

Like011 months ago

CécileKwiziq team member

Hi Melisa,

The United States of America is 'Les États-Unis d'Amérique' in French so you would say -

Je vais aux État-Unis le mois prochain = I am going to the United States next month.

Because -

à + les = aux

Hope this helps!

Like011 months ago

MelisaA2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Oh, I didn't think about the liaison. I'm never sure when there is one and when there isn't since it seems like there frequently isn't and I haven't found a rule for it. Thank you Alan and Cécile.

Like011 months ago

MelisaA2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Oh, I didn't think about the liaison. I'm never sure when there is one and when there isn't since it seems like there frequently isn't and I haven't found a rule for it. Thank you Alan and Cécile.

Like011 months ago

Melisa asked:View original

États-Unis

"For pronunciation reasons, you will use en with masculine countries starting with a vowel" yet États-Unis is using aux. Is that only because it is plural?

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ShreyA1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

A small typo noticed

Bonjour,

In the sentence from the lesson which reads-

“Vous allez aux Etats-Unis.” Here the acute accent on ‘E’ is missing . Should it not be as “États-Unis”?

Asked 1 year ago

Like0Answer2

AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Varsha !

Excellent question!

Actually in French, when it comes to capital letters, accents are not compulsory, and both cases are perfectly valid :) Thus, you can write either "les États-Unis" or "les Etats-Unis"!Talk about confusing learners!

However, I will add the accent here for the sake of avoiding extra confusion ;)

I hope that's helpful!Bonne journée !

Like01 year ago

ShreyA1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Merci Beaucoup Madame Aurélie.

Like01 year ago

Shrey asked:View original

A small typo noticed

Bonjour,

In the sentence from the lesson which reads-

“Vous allez aux Etats-Unis.” Here the acute accent on ‘E’ is missing . Should it not be as “États-Unis”?

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JessieA1Kwiziq community member

Quebec

It is not grammar related question, but I would love to know why Quebec behaves like a country? Is it because of the referendum?

Asked 2 years ago

Like0Answer3

CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Jessie,

As "Quebec" is a Province of Canada, it will behave in grammatical terms just like other regions, states and shires having its own article to denote it. So you will have "le Québec, la Normandie, le Missouri, le Yorkshire" etc..

nothing to do with the referendum...

Hope this helps!

Like01 year ago

RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

It is probable that the reason is the same as «au Texas» but I am unable to provide the reasoning.

Like02 years ago

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

English, by the way, isn't any more logical. One says "I go to Styria" but "I go to the Tyrol." Styria and Tyrol being to counties in Austria. Or "I am from England" but "I go to the Bahamas." -- Chris.

Like02 years ago

Jessie asked:View original

Quebec

It is not grammar related question, but I would love to know why Quebec behaves like a country? Is it because of the referendum?

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PaulC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

In and To

I admit to being totally confused about the rules for In/To/From for Cities/ Regions/States/Countries/Continents. I am creating an Excel spreadsheet for myself to clarify the rules and I am going through the several Kwiziq lessons which explain the rules. I am confused because the lessons use In and To interchangeably. Are In and To always the same word in French for each combination of gender, first letter (vowel or consonant) and number (singular or plural)?

Asked 2 years ago

Like0Answer3

RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Bonjour Paul, There are two separate lessons here: 1) to or from a city --> here is the lesson for this: Je viens de + [city] = I'm from + [city] 2) to or from a Region, State, Country or Continent --> here is the less for this: Venir de, d', du, des + country / state / region = To come/be from I too have issues with the various regions, states, etc. so it will be best to leave any other response to the Kwiziq team. Bonne chance.

Like02 years ago

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I found the lessons on kwiziq regarding this topic quite exhaustive. Best to review and practice them. Don't overthink (always a bad idea with French in particular :) ). There is a peculiarity with some prepositions which I have resigned to just learning rather than trying to understand. "Je vais dans ma chambre" means "I am going to my room" and implies a direction. "Je vais dans la forêt", however, means I am going in the forest and does NOT imply a direction. If you wanted to say "I am going to the forest" you would use "Je vais à la forêt". To confuse matters even more, I believe that "Je marche dans ma chambre" would connote that you were walking around in your room (rather than going to your room). -- Chris (not a native speaker)

Like02 years ago

RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Bonjour à nouveau Chris, J'en ai profité bien de votre réponse, merci.

Like02 years ago

Paul asked:View original

In and To

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ValentinaA1Kwiziq community member

Bonjour! When shall I use habiter and when vivre? Oh, and when demeurer?

Asked 2 years ago

Like1Answer2

AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Valentina !

That's an excellent question !

Habiter and vivre are interchangeable most of the time, though there is a slight nuance of meaning between them:
habiter means "to live in / to inhabit [a place]", whereas vivre is more about "being alive, living one's life [somewhere]"

As for demeurer, it's a more antiquated version of habiter, which can also mean "to remain".

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Like02 years ago

RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Bonjour Valentina, demeurer is to live, stay or remain il est demeuré paralysé he was left paralysed vivre to live J'aimerais vivre à l'étranger. I'd like to live abroad. Je vis en Écosse. I live in Scotland. Il vit chez ses parents. He lives with his parents. Il a vécu à Paris pendant dix ans. He lived in Paris for ten years. habiter to live «in» Il habite à Montpellier. He lives in Montpellier habiter dans to live in habiter chez qn or habiter avec qn to live with sb habiter 16 rue Montmartre to live at number 16 rue Montmartre habiter rue Montmartre to live in rue Montmartre J'espère que cela vous aidera.

Like02 years ago

Valentina asked:View original

Bonjour! When shall I use habiter and when vivre? Oh, and when demeurer?

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LisaA2Kwiziq community member

Why is Pays de Galles masculine and not plural? Is it an exception?

Asked 3 years ago

Like0Answer2

GruffKwiziq team member

Good question! I suspect you're comparing "Pays de Galles" with "Pays-Bas" and they do look like they both ought to be plural. In fact, however, "pays" is actually the same word in singular and plural form (a bit like "sheep" in English). It means land or lands, and the country names literally mean, The Land of the Galls (Le Pays de Galles = Wales), and The Low-Lands (Les Pays-Bas = Holland).

Like73 years ago

LisaA2Kwiziq community member

That was a really good answer that clarified it for me completely. Thanks for making reference to "sheep" as it reminded me that there are indeed words that are used both for plural and singular forms of the same thing. Thank you.

Like13 years ago

Lisa asked:View original

Why is Pays de Galles masculine and not plural? Is it an exception?

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YellamarajuC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Je vais en France ce weekend. means "going to" or "in" France

Asked 4 years ago

Like2Answer4

RihA2Kwiziq community member

it means going to

Like14 years ago

FISEHAA1Kwiziq community member

Going to is right. Because en France comme en Ethiopie, c'est feminin.

Like14 years ago

YellamarajuC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Je vais en France ce weekend.= I'm in France this weekend. It is said so in the lesson. Hence the doubt. Thanks to Rih & FISEHA for replies.

Like04 years ago

LauraKwiziq team member

Bonjour Yellamaraju, Thanks for bringing this up. "I'm in France this weekend" is a British way of saying "I'm going to France this weekend" and I can see why this would cause confusion. We'll change it to make it clearer - thanks!

Like14 years ago

Yellamaraju asked:View original