How to Use French Prepositions with Places: à, en, au, aux

The Basic Rule for Cities: à

For almost any city or town in the world, the preposition to use for saying you are going to it or are in it is à. It's simple and consistent.

• Je vais à Paris. (I am going to Paris.)
• Elle habite à Montréal. (She lives in Montreal.)
• Nous sommes à Dakar. (We are in Dakar.)

A small number of cities include an article in their name, like Le Caire (Cairo) or Le Havre. When this happens, the preposition à contracts with the article. The preposition à and the article le combine to become au. Likewise, à and les would become aux.

• On va au Caire cet été. (We're going to Cairo this summer.)
• Il travaille au Havre. (He works in Le Havre.)

Prepositions for Countries: en, au, aux

For countries, the preposition depends on the country's gender and number (singular or plural). This is the most important rule to learn.

Use en for all feminine countries. Most countries ending in -e are feminine. En is also used for all masculine countries that begin with a vowel.

• Feminine: J'habite en France. (I live in France.)
• Feminine: Ils voyagent en Espagne. (They are traveling in Spain.)
• Masculine with vowel: Tu vas en Iran. (You are going to Iran.)
• Masculine with vowel: Mon père est en Israël. (My father is in Israel.)

Use au for all singular, masculine countries that begin with a consonant.

• Je vais au Canada. (I am going to Canada.)
• Elle travaille au Brésil. (She works in Brazil.)
• Nous partons au Portugal. (We are leaving for Portugal.)

Be careful with a few masculine countries that end in -e. The most common are le Mexique, le Cambodge, le Mozambique, and le Zimbabwe. Because they are masculine, you use au: au Mexique, au Cambodge.

Use aux for all plural countries. The names of these countries often include words like 'States', 'Kingdom', or 'Netherlands'.

• Ils habitent aux États-Unis. (They live in the United States.)
• On va aux Pays-Bas. (We are going to the Netherlands.)
• Le voyage aux Philippines était incroyable. (The trip to the Philippines was incredible.)

Indicating Origin: de, d', du, des

To say you are from a place, you use a form of the preposition de. The form changes just like it did for destinations. Note that this guide focuses on geographical prepositions; the general uses of à vs de are covered in their own topic.

• For cities, use de or d' (if the city starts with a vowel): Il est de Rome. (He is from Rome.) / Je viens d'Amsterdam. (I come from Amsterdam.)
• For feminine countries, use de or d': Elle vient de Chine. (She comes from China.) / Il est d'Allemagne. (He is from Germany.)
• For masculine countries, use du (de + le): Mon ami vient du Japon. (My friend comes from Japan.)
• For plural countries, use des (de + les): Mes cousins sont des États-Unis. (My cousins are from the United States.)

Continents, Islands, and Regions

The rules for continents, islands, and sub-national regions like states or provinces are less rigid, but some clear patterns emerge.

Continents always use en for location and de / d' for origin, just like feminine countries.

• Voyager en Europe. (To travel in Europe.)
• Aller en Asie. (To go to Asia.)
• Venir d'Afrique. (To come from Africa.)

Islands are inconsistent. Many smaller islands use à, while larger islands often treated as regions use en. It is often best to memorize the most common ones.

• Using à: à Cuba, à Madagascar, à Malte, à Hawaï
• Using en: en Corse, en Sicile, en Sardaigne

Canadian provinces and US states follow the gender rule. Feminine ones use en (en Colombie-Britannique, en Californie), while masculine ones use au (au Québec, au Texas). Those starting with a vowel also use en (en Ontario, en Alberta). For states with a generic name, you can use dans l'État de: dans l'État de New York.

Same Preposition for Destination and Location

Unlike in English where we say "I am going *to* France" but "I live *in* France," French uses the same preposition for both the destination and the location. This simplifies things greatly. Once you know the correct preposition for a place, you can use it for both movement and position.

• Je vais à Berlin. (I am going to Berlin.) / Je suis à Berlin. (I am in Berlin.)
• Elle voyage au Canada. (She is traveling to Canada.) / Elle habite au Canada. (She lives in Canada.)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are a few common errors learners make with geographical prepositions.

• Using à for countries: Remember, à is for cities. Incorrect: J'habite à Canada. Correct: J'habite au Canada.
• Forgetting gender exceptions: Some masculine countries end in -e. Incorrect: Je vais en Mexique. Correct: Je vais au Mexique.
• Mixing up origin and location: de is for 'from', while en/au/aux is for 'to'/'in'. Incorrect: Je viens en France. Correct: Je viens de France.
• Masculine countries with vowels: These use en, not au. Incorrect: Mon oncle voyage au Ouganda. Correct: Mon oncle voyage en Ouganda.

Quick self-check

1. How do you say, 'We are going to Japan' in French?

   Show answer

   Nous allons au Japon. (Le Japon is a masculine country starting with a consonant, so we use au.)

2. Translate this sentence: 'She comes from the United States.'

   Show answer

   Elle vient des États-Unis. (Les États-Unis is plural, and 'from' requires the preposition des.)

3. Is it en Californie or au Californie, and why?

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   It's en Californie. States and regions generally follow the gender rule, and la Californie is considered feminine.

4. Complete the sentence with the correct preposition: Mes amis habitent ___ Rome.

   Show answer

   Mes amis habitent à Rome. (Rome is a city, so we use the preposition à.)

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