Prepositions with Regions, Departments, Provinces, States, and Counties

Prépositions avec régions, départements, provinces, états, comtés

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As with other other geographical names, French prepositions with regions, departments, provinces, states, and counties depend on the gender* and first letter of the name, plus of course whether you’re coming or going.

Going to / Being in a region, department, province, state, or county

1) Masculine

a. Name begins with a consonant or aspirated h: dans le

Je vais dans le Limousin.		I’m going to Limousin.
Il est dans le Nebraska.		He’s in Nebraska.

 Exceptions: au Nouveau-Mexique, au Québec, au Texas

b. Name begins with a vowel or mute h: dans l’ or en

Elle va dans l’Ain / en Ain.		She’s going to Ain.
Nous habitons dans l’Ontario / en Ontario.		We live in Ontario.

2) Feminine: en

Ils sont en Cornouailles.		They’re in Cornwall.
On va en Alsace.		We’re going to Alsace.

Coming from a region, department, province, state, or county

1) Masculine

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

Je viens du Limousin.		I’m from Limousin.
Il arrive du Nebraska.		He’s arriving from Nebraska.

b. Name begins with a vowel or mute h: de l’ or d’

Elle vient de l’Ain / d’Ain.		She’s from Ain.
Nous rentrons de l’Ontario / d’Ontario.		We’re returning from Ontario.

2) Feminine: de (d’)

Ils sont de Cornouailles.		They’re from Cornwall.
On arrive d’Alsace.		We’re arriving from Alsace.

 * See lesson on geographical gender

 Geographical Prepositions Quizzes

Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on French geographical prepositions with these fill-in-the-blanks exercises:

• Un été international
• Voyage autour du monde

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

 Related lessons

• Introduction to geographical prepositions
• Canada provinces and territories
• US states
• Consonants
• Contractions
• H aspiré
• H muet
• Vowels
• Aller (to go)
• Venir (to come)

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