I can name a country with the right article and say where I live and where I'm from: en France, au Japon, aux États-Unis, à Paris, du Canada.
Country, city, and the article
Country, city, and the article
Why: to say where you live, where you're going, and where you're from.
The second French article is the definite one (“the”): le Japon, la France, l'Italie (before a vowel), les États-Unis. Unlike English, French names a country with its article: la France, le Japon.
By ear, le and les differ only in the vowel: [ə] is short and relaxed, [e] is closed, like “ay” in “say” with no glide. The final -s is silent except in liaison before a vowel, les États-Unis [lez-], so you usually hear the number in the article.
A country's gender shows at the end of the word: a country ending in -e is feminine (la France, la Russie, la Chine, l'Italie, l'Espagne, l'Allemagne, l'Angleterre); the rest are masculine (le Japon, le Canada, le Portugal, le Maroc). The plural of le pays is les pays.
Where and where to (English “in”, “to”): en + a feminine country or one that starts with a vowel, au + a masculine country, aux + a plural one, and à + a city.
Where from: de or d' + a city or a feminine country, du + a masculine country, and des + a plural one.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “le Italie” → l'Italie.
• NOT “J'habite en Japon” → J'habite au Japon.
• NOT “Je travaille à France” → Je travaille en France.
• NOT “Il est de le Canada” → Il est du Canada.
• NOT “J'habite en Paris” → J'habite à Paris.
Gender of country names
A country ending in -e is feminine; the others are masculine.
| Country | Gender | Article |
|---|---|---|
| France, Russie, Chine | feminine (-e) | la |
| Italie, Espagne, Allemagne, Angleterre | feminine, word starting with a vowel | l' |
| Japon, Canada, Portugal, Maroc | masculine | le |
| États-Unis | plural | les |
In or to ↔ from
Before a city it's always à and de, whatever the country next to it.
| What it is | In or to | From |
|---|---|---|
| feminine country | en France | de France |
| country starting with a vowel | en Italie | d'Italie |
| masculine country | au Japon | du Japon |
| plural | aux États-Unis | des États-Unis |
| city | à Paris | de Paris |
Lesson notes
Country, city, and the article
Why: to say where you live, where you're going, and where you're from.
The second French article is the definite one (“the”): le Japon, la France, l'Italie (before a vowel), les États-Unis. Unlike English, French names a country with its article: la France, le Japon.
By ear, le and les differ only in the vowel: [ə] is short and relaxed, [e] is closed, like “ay” in “say” with no glide. The final -s is silent except in liaison before a vowel, les États-Unis [lez-], so you usually hear the number in the article.
A country's gender shows at the end of the word: a country ending in -e is feminine (la France, la Russie, la Chine, l'Italie, l'Espagne, l'Allemagne, l'Angleterre); the rest are masculine (le Japon, le Canada, le Portugal, le Maroc). The plural of le pays is les pays.
Where and where to (English “in”, “to”): en + a feminine country or one that starts with a vowel, au + a masculine country, aux + a plural one, and à + a city.
Where from: de or d' + a city or a feminine country, du + a masculine country, and des + a plural one.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “le Italie” → l'Italie.
• NOT “J'habite en Japon” → J'habite au Japon.
• NOT “Je travaille à France” → Je travaille en France.
• NOT “Il est de le Canada” → Il est du Canada.
• NOT “J'habite en Paris” → J'habite à Paris.