Français II – Geographic Articles & Prepositions
Definite Articles with Geographical Names
Always required before names of geographical entities (continents, countries, states, rivers, mountains, etc.)
Determiners: le, la, l', les
Gender rule for countries
Feminine: most countries that end in -e
Ex: la France, la Belgique, la Chine
Masculine: most others
Key exception: Le Mexique (ends in –e but masculine)
Plural geographical entities retain plural article
Ex: Les États-Unis, Les Pays-Bas
Examples
(\text{L'Ohio est un bel état.})
(\text{J'aime la France.})
(\text{Le Mexique est un pays pauvre.})
(\text{Les États-Unis sont notre pays.})
Countries that NEVER take a definite article (zero article)
Israël, Cuba, Haïti, Porto Rico
Cities and Determiners
General rule: no article with cities
Ex: J'aime Paris.
Ex: Cleveland n'est pas une belle ville.
Fixed exceptions (article always present)
La Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans)
Le Havre (French port city)
La Rochelle (French Atlantic city)
Le Caire (Cairo, Egypt)
La Havane (Havana, Cuba)
Prepositions for Geographic Locations
(Used for expressing “to / at / in,” “from,” or “of.”)
Masculine Singular Country / State / Province, etc.
To / At / In → au
From → du
Of → du
Masculine Plural
To / At / In → aux
From → des
Of → des
Feminine Country / State & ALL Continents
To / At / In → en
From → de
Of → de la
When followed by a vowel sound → d' / de l'
Masculine Beginning with a Vowel
Same pattern as feminine & continents (to avoid hiatus)
To / At / In → en
From / Of → d' / de l'
City
To / At / In → à
From / Of → de
If the city begins with a vowel → d'
Quick Reference Examples
(\text{Je vais au Canada.})
(\text{Ils viennent du Brésil.})
(\text{Nous habitons en France.})
(\text{Elle revient d'Italie.})
(\text{Je suis né aux États-Unis.})
(\text{Il rentre des Pays-Bas.})
(\text{On voyage à Tokyo.})
(\text{Ils reviennent de Paris.})
These bullet-point notes consolidate all rules and examples from the transcript so you can quickly identify (1) when a definite article is required, (2) how to choose the correct article based on gender, number, or phonetics, and (3) which preposition to use for motion or origin with each category of geographic name.