Prepositions to use with geographical names
The preposition you should use with geographical
names depends on the type of location. This also determines whether
you need to use an article.
Cities
|
in & to
|
from & of
|
|
| ALL | ŕ (e.g. J'habite ŕ Mpls) | de (e.g. Je viens de Mpls)  |
Countries and Continents
|
in & to
|
from & of
|
|
| masculine | au (e.g. J'habite au Canada) |
du (e.g. Je viens du Canada) |
| masculine vowel | en (e.g. J'habite en Iran) |
d' (e.g. Je viens d'Iran) |
| feminine | en (e.g. J'habite en France) |
de (e.g. Je viens de France) |
| plural | aux (e.g. J'habite aux États-Unis) |
des (e.g. Je viens des États-Unis) |
(View map of the world showing the articles and prepositions to use with each country.)
Helpful hint:
Countries that end in an 'e' are nearly all feminine (except
for 'le Mexique', 'le Cambodge'). Countries that end in any other letter
are masculine.
U.S. States (list of states)
|
in & to
|
from & of
|
|
| masculine | dans le (e.g. J'habite dans le MN) |
du (e.g. Je viens du MN) |
| feminine | en (e.g. J'habite en CA) |
de (e.g. Je viens de CA) |
| islands | ŕ (e.g. J'habite ŕ Hawaii) |
de (e.g. Je viens de Hawaii) |
N.B.
When used without a preposition...
Countries and states usually have an article
(e.g. J'aime bien le Minnesota, J'aime aussi la France. )
Cities are not used with articles
(e.g. J'aime bien Minneapolis. )
Thus
J'aime le Québec = I like the province of Quebec.
J'aime Québec = I like Quebec
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