How to speak about countries in French

Les Pays en français

Learning the name of the countries in French is not too hard for English speakers. Many of the times, all you have to do is add “-ique” or “-ie” at the end of the country’s name

English French (Masculine) French (Feminine) French (plural)

Afghanistan L’Afghanistan

Albania L’Abanie

Algeria L’Algerie

Argentina L’Argentine

Antigua and Barbuda L’Antigua-et-Barbuda

Bahamas Les Bahamas (feminine)

Austria l'Autriche

Bosnia La Bosnie-Herzégovine

Brazil Le Brésil

Canada Le Canada

Dominican Republic la République dominicaine

Fiji les Fidji (feminine)

Greece La Grèce

Haiti L’Haïti

Mexico Le Mexique

Pakistan Le Pakistan

Venezuela Le Venezuela

Netherlands Les Pays Bas

Switzerland La Suisse

United States Les Etats-Unis

Japan Le Japon

Russia La Russie

Italy L’Italie

Spain L’Espagne

China La Chine

India L’Inde

France La France

Great Britain La Grande Bretagne

South Korea La Corée du Sud

Egypt L’Egypte

Belgium La Belgique

Poland La Pologne

How to use the prepositions to talk about countries:

Everything in a French sentence whether written or spoken has to agree with the gender and quantity. This law also is applied to the countries, cities, islands, regions, etc.

The prepositions:

This preposition is used with the masculine nouns (countries)

À = To (which many times is combined with the definite article)

This proposition is used with feminine nouns (countries)

En = In (or TO with this context = near future)

This preposition is a combination with the definite article “le”

Dans le = In

This proposition is used with either feminine or masculine

De = From (which many times is combined with the definite articles)

How to tell if the country is feminine or masculine?

Feminine = Usually if the country’s, region’s or continent’s name ends with an “e” (there are some exceptions like “Mexique” which is masculine)

The Country Country with Preposition

La France (France) Je vais en France (I am going to France)

L’Italie (Italy) Tu es en Italie (You are in Italy)

La Floride (Florida) Vous venez de Floride (You are coming from Florida)

La Russie (Russia) Nous venons de Russie (We are coming from Russia)

La Chine (China) Elles vont en Chine (They are going to China)

L’Inde (India) Il est en Inde. (He is in India)

Exceptions= Le Mexique, Le Zimbabwe, Le Maine. (There are more)

Masculine= Usually if the country’s, region’s or continent’s name ends with a consonant, any other vowel that is not “e”

(In the masculine you use the preposition + definite article)

The Country Country with Prepositions

Le Canada (Canada) Je vais au Canada (I am going to Canada)

Le Brésil (Brazil) Je suis au Brésil ( I am in Brazil)

Le Niger (Niger) Je viens du Niger ( I am coming from Niger)

Le Portugal (Portugal) Je viens du Portugal (I come from Portugal)

Le Maroc (Marocco) Je suis au Maroc (I am in Morocco)

Le Congo (Congo) Je vais au Congo (I am going to Congo)

When the country's name begins with the letter, "h" or a vowel - both masculine and feminine nouns share rules

The Country Country with Preposition

L’Iran (Iran) Je vais en Iran

L’Angola (Angola) Je suis en Angola

L’Israël (Israel) Je viens d’Israël

L'Afghanistan Je viens d’Afghanistan

L'Haïti Nous allons en Haïti

Countries in the plural= The Countries that end with an “s” -- (there are exeptions)

The Country Country with Preposition

Les Etats-Unis (USA) Je vais aux Etats-Unis (I am going to the USA)

Les Philippines (Philippines) Je viens des Philippines (I am in the Philippines)

How do you speak about cities:

Cities usually receive no definite article and are usually feminine (the word city “ville” is feminine) and usually only use the “à” preposition

The City City with Preposition

Paris Je vais à Paris ( I am going to Paris)

New York Je suis à New York (I am in New York)

Tokyo Je viens de Tokyo (I am coming from Tokyo)

Saint Domingue (Santo Domingo) Je viens de Saint Domingue (I come from Santo Domingo)

There are cities that have the articles as part of their names, therefore they do the contractions with masculine nouns (à + le = au / de + le = du / etc.)

The City City with Preposition

La Paz Je vais à la Paz (I am going to the Paz)

Les Andelys Je suis aux Andelys (I am in Andelys)

Le Havre (Harbor) Je viens du Havre (I come from Harbor)

Le Caire (Cairo) Je viens du Caire (I am coming from Cairo)

How to talk about islands:

These are a little harder to figure out because many do not have article-However, not impossible

-They will only be introduced by either “à” or “de” plus the contraction with the definite article if they are masculine nouns.

The Islands Islands with Prepositions

Cuba (no definite article) Je vais à Cuba (Je viens de Cuba)

Haïti (no definite article) Je suis à Haïti (Haiti is a weird one because it can also be “en Haïti”)

(Je viens de Haïti)

Le Japon (Japan) (masculine) Je suis au Japon (Tu viens du Japon)

Regions and States

Usually follow the gender rule= if it ends with “E” is feminine, others are masculine

-USA’s feminine states:

- Californie, Floride, Caroline du Sud, Caroline du Nord, Louisiane, Georgie (all that end with “e”) -Except for Maine

Masc = à

Fem = en

-With states there is usually no use of “à” by itself, but with a definite article contraction, also “dans le, dans la, dans les”, en (it’s a custom thing...not grammar)

USA States States with prepositions

La Floride (Florida) (feminine noun) Je suis en Floride (I am in Florida)

Le Texas Je suis au Texas

Le Maine Je vais dans le Maine

La Californie Je suis en Californie

L’Illinois Je vais en Illinois

Le Colorado Je suis au Colorado / Je suis dans le Colorado

TIPS:

-Pretty much every state except for Texas can have “dans le, dans les, etc”

-The female nouns, and nouns that start with a vowel / silent “h” will have “en”

(Although the name of countries and places are capitalized, nationalities/languages are not) (The only time that the nationality will be capitalized is if it’s a proper noun)

-Je suis dominicaine (I am Dominican)

-Elle est italienne (She is Italian)

-Je parle anglais (I speak English)

Proper nouns

-J’ai marié un Italien (I married an Italian)

-J’ai vu un Americain (I saw an American)

Hope this blog helps you on your French learning journey