Prepositions with Geographical Names

Prepositions with Geographical Names | Les prépositions avec les noms géographiques

The preposition that accompanies a geographical name such as a city, a province, a country or a continent varies. Knowing the gender (and number) of the geographical name may help in determining which preposition to use.

Below are general guidelines to follow when using prepositions preceding geographical locations.

In French, the prepositions en, à, à l’, au, aux are used to say “in” (to be in | être dans) and “to” (to go to | aller à).

• Je vais en France. | I am going to France.
• Je suis en France. | I am in France.
• Il part aux États-Unis pour visiter ses amis. | He is leaving to the United States to visit his friends.
• Je suis née au Canada. | I was born in Canada.
• Je suis à Ottawa. | I am in Ottawa.

The prepositions de, d’, du, des are used to say “from” (to come from | venire de).

• Je viens de France. | I come from France.
• Il revient du Canada. | He is returning from Canada.
• La famille rentre d’Ottawa. | The family is returning from Ottawa.
• Le cadeau vient des États-Unis. | The gift comes from the United States.

In or To | en, au, aux, à la, à l’

Use the preposition en with:

• feminine singular geographical names
  • Il a passé un mois en Colombie Britannique puis en Floride. | He spent a month in British Colombia and in Florida.

• masculine singular geographical names starting with a vowel
  • Nous allons en Ontario pour rendre visite à notre famille. | We’re going to Ontario to visit our family.

Use the preposition à plus the definite article (le, la, l’, les) with:

• masculine geographical names that do not start with a vowel
  • Le match de hockey est joué au Danemark. | The hockey game is played in Denmark.

• plural geographical names
  • Ils sont invités aux Philippines à un mariage. | They are invited to a wedding in the Philippines.

*Exceptions:

A number of countries require the use of the preposition à:
Some islands: Madagascar, Cuba, Cyprus, Haiti
Principalities, cities: Monaco, Hong Kong, Singapore
Country: Djibouti

From | de, d’, du, des

Use the preposition de or d’ (before vowel) with

• feminine singular geographical names (the definite article is usually eliminated)
  • Je viens de Chine et elle vient de France. | I come from China and she comes from France.

• masculine singular geographical names starting with a vowel (the definite article is usually eliminated)
  • Cette famille vient d’Europe et l’autre famille vient d’Asie. | This family comes from Europe and the other family is from Asia.

Use the preposition de plus the definite article (le, la, l’, les) with

• masculine singular geographical names that do not start with a vowel
  • Il rentre du Mexique. | He returned from Mexico.
  • Elle rentre du Canada. | She returned from Canada.

• plural geographical names
  • Mes parents reviennent des Bahamas. | My parents returned from the Bahamas.

The following sub-pages include a variety of geographical locations with their respective gender and prepositions.