French Prepositions with Geographical Names

French Prepositions with Geographical Names Deciding which French  preposition  to use with countries, cities, and other  geographical names  can be somewhat confusing, at least until now! This lesson will explain which prepositions to use and why. Gendered Nouns Like all French  nouns, geographical names like countries, states, and provinces have a  gender. Knowing the gender of each geographical name is the first step in determining which preposition to use. As a general guideline, geographical names which end in  e  are  feminine, while those that end in any other letter are masculine. There are, of course, exceptions which simply have to be memorized. See the individual lessons for explanations of the gender of each geographical name. Examples In English, we use three different prepositions with geographical names, depending on what we are trying to say. Je vais  en  FranceIm going  to  FranceJe suis  en  FranceIm  in  FranceJe suis  de  FranceIm  from  France However, in French numbers 1 and 2 take the  same  preposition. Whether you are going  to France or you are  in  France, the same preposition is used. Thus in French there are only two prepositions to choose from for each type of geographical name. The difficulty lies in knowing which preposition to use for a city vs a state vs a country.