Prepositions for Places
Usage of Prepositions Au/En, Du/De = names of countries
(Au/En, Du/De + noms de pays)
✦ All countries in French are gendered. Countries whose spelling ends with ‘e’ are feminine.
✦ But there are four such countries whose spelling ends with ‘e’ but they are masculine.
- Mozambique
- Mexique
- Zaire
- Zimbabwe
✦ There are plural countries also.
- The USA (les Etats-Unis)
- The West Indies (les Antilles)
- The Netherlands (les Pays-Bas)
✦ When we talk about going to or being in a country which is feminine, we use en.
For example:
- I am going to Russia (Je vais en Russie)
- He is working in France (Il travaille en France)
✦ En is also used for all names of masculine countries beginning with a vowel.
For example:
- I am going to Iran. (Je vais en Iran).
- He is working in India. (Je travaille en Inde).
For example:
- I am going to Canada. (Je vais au Canada).
- He is working in Japan. (Iltravaille au Japon).