Prepositions with cities, countries and regions

Kurz erklärt

French uses different prepositions with geographical names. With most cities, use à for ‘in’ or ‘to’ and de for ‘from’. With countries, the choice usually depends on gender and number: en with feminine countries and masculine countries beginning with a vowel, au with masculine singular countries beginning with a consonant, and aux with plural countries.

Bildung

city: à / de + name; country: en + feminine or vowel, au + masculine consonant, aux + plural; from a country: de/d’, du, des

Verwendung

• Use à with most city names: à Paris.
• Use en with feminine countries: en France, and before a vowel: en Iran.
• Use au with masculine countries: au Canada.
• Use aux with plural countries: aux États-Unis.
• For origin, use de or d’ with cities and feminine countries, du with masculine countries, and des with plural countries.
• Regions often follow established patterns, such as en Bretagne, dans le Jura, and dans les Alpes.

Beispiele

• J’habite à Lyon. — I live in Lyon.
• Nous allons en France cet été. — We are going to France this summer.
• Il travaille au Canada. — He works in Canada.
• Elle revient des États-Unis. — She is returning from the United States.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Je vais à France.

✅ Je vais en France.

Unlike English ‘to France’, French does not use the general city pattern à here. France is feminine, so use en.

Merke

Use à for most cities. For countries, remember en France, au Canada, and aux États-Unis.