Prepositions with Continents and Countries

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Prépositions avec continents et pays

As with other other geographical names, French prepositions with continents and countries depend on the gender,* number, and first letter of the name, plus of course whether you’re coming or going.

Going to / Being in a continent or country

1) Masculine singular

a. Country begins with a consonant or aspirated h: au

Je vais au Maroc.		I’m going to Morocco.
Il est au Honduras.		He’s in Honduras.

b. Country begins with a vowel or mute h: en

Elle va en Uruguay.		She’s going to Uruguay.
Nous habitons en Iran.		We live in Iran.

2) Feminine singular: en

Ils sont en France.		They’re in France.
On va en Australie.		We’re going to Australia.

3) Plural: aux

Tu vas aux États-Unis ?		Are you going to the US?
Je veux voyager aux Philippines.		I want to travel in the Philippines.

Coming from a continent or country

1) Masculine singular

a. Country begins with a consonant or aspirated h: du

Je viens du Maroc.		I’m from Morocco.
Il arrive du Honduras.		He’s arriving from Honduras.

b. Country begins with a vowel or mute h: d’

Elle vient d’Uruguay.		She’s coming from Uruguay.
Nous rentrons d’Iran.		We’re returning from Iran.

2) Feminine singular: de (d’)

Ils sont de France.		They’re from France.
On arrive d’Australie.		We’re arriving from Australia.

3) Plural: des

Tu viens des États-Unis ?		Are you from the US?
Je rentre des Philippines.		I’m returning from the Philippines.

  * Determining the gender of countries is pretty easy: the ones that end in -e or -es are feminine, the rest are masculine, with just 6 exceptions:

1. le Belize
2. le Cambodge
3. le Mexique
4. le Mozambique
5. le Zaïre
6. le Zimbabwe

All continents end in –e and are therefore feminine.

Geographical Prepositions Quiz

Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on the French geographical prepositions with this fill-in-the-blank exercise: Un été international

Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to take this test. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!

 Related lessons

• Introduction to geographical prepositions
• Consonants
• Contractions
• H aspiré
• H muet
• Vowels
• Aller (to go)
• Venir (to come)

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