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 Etats-Unis.
You are going to the United States.
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:
- aux is used with plural countries
Note that Le Québec behaves like a country, even though it's a province:
See also the related lesson: En, dans = In, to with regions, states, counties (prepositions)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
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"
Mon ami Sahid vit en Iran.
My friend Sahid lives in Iran.
Vous allez aux Etats-Unis.
You are going to the United States.
Mon oncle vit en Asie.
My uncle lives in Asia.
J'ai passé mon été en Ouganda.
I spent my summer in Uganda.
On est au Portugal.
We are in Portugal.
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.
Il est en Angleterre maintenant.
He's in England now.
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.
Q&A
Paul
Kwiziq community member
11 October 2017
3 replies
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)?
Ron
Kwiziq community member
13/10/17
There are two separate lessons here:
1) to or from a city --> here is the lesson for this: https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/my-languages/french/view/3160
2) to or from a Region, State, Country or Continent --> here is the less for this: https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/my-languages/french/view/4713
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.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
16/10/17
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)
Ron
Kwiziq community member
16/10/17
J'en ai profité bien de votre réponse, merci.
valentina
Kwiziq community member
3 August 2017
2 replies
Bonjour! When shall I use habiter and when vivre? Oh, and when demeurer?
Ron
Kwiziq community member
3/08/17
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.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
9/08/17
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 !
Lisa
Kwiziq community member
30 January 2016
2 replies
Why is Pays de Galles masculine and not plural? Is it an exception?
Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
30/01/16
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).
Lisa
Kwiziq community member
30/01/16
Rih
Kwiziq community member
4/12/15
FISEHA
Kwiziq community member
5/12/15
yellamaraju
Kwiziq community member
5/12/15
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
5/12/15
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!
Jessie
Kwiziq community member
8 December 2017
3 replies
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?
Ron
Kwiziq community member
9 December 2017
9/12/17
Chris
Kwiziq community member
12 December 2017
12/12/17
-- Chris.
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
28 February 2018
28/02/18
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!