In order to determine how to express in, to and from with names of continents, countries, islands, French regions and departments, American states and Canadian provinces, one must know the gender and number of these places, as well as their initial sound, and whether they are used with the definite article or not.
• Unlike English, French generally uses the definite article before these place names.
As-tu deja visite I'Asie?
L'Espagne est un beau pays.
J'aime beaucoup Ia Provence.
La Californie est mon etat prefere.
La Jamai'que fait partie des Antilles.
Except:
Have you already visited Asia?
Spain is a beautiful country.
/like Provence a lot.
California is my favorite state.
Jamaica is part of the West Indies.
Andorre (Andorra), Bahrein (Bahrein), Chypre (Cyprus), Cuba, Djibouti, Haiti, Hong Kong, Israel, Madagascar, Monaco, Oman, Singapour, Taiwan, Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland)
• Continents, countries, regions, French provinces, American states and Canadian provinces which end in -e are feminine.
I' Europe, I' Asie, Ia Russie, Ia Chine, I'Inde, Ia Normandie, Ia Aoride, Ia Colombie britannique
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424 A Complete French Grammar Except:
le Mexique (Mexico), le Cambodge (Cambodia), I' Antarctique (Antarctica), le Belize, le Dauphine,le Maine, le Mozambique,le Zimbabwe,le Nouveau Mexique,le Tennessee
• Countries, regions, French and Canadian provinces and American states not ending in -e are masculine.
le Japon, le Bresil, le Canada, le Danemark,le Maroc,le Portugal, le Languedoc,le Quebec, le Colorado Except:
Ia Saskatchewan
• Some countries are plural.
les Etats-Unis (the United States),les Pays-Bas (the Netherlands),les Philippines
Continents and countries (incomplete list) a. Continents
!'Afrique (f.) I' Amerique (f.) l' Antarctique (m.) l'Asie (f.) I' Australie (f.)
!'Europe (f.) b. Countries
!'Afghanistan (m.) l' Algerie (f.) l'Allemagne (f.) I' Angleterre (f.) I' Arabie saoudite (f.) I' Argentine (f.) I' Autriche (f.) Ia Belgique Ia Bolivie Ia Bosnie Ie Bresil Ia Bulgarie le Burkina Faso IeCambodge le Cameroun le Canada le Chili laChine Chypre Ia Colombie leCongo Ia Coree le Costa Rica Ia Cote-d'lvoire Ia Croatie Cuba leDanemark Djibouti l'Ecosse (f.) I'Egypte (f.) l'Equateur (m.) l'Espagne (f.)
Africa
America (1' Amerique du Nord= North America; I' Amerique du Sud= South America) Antarctica
Asia Australia Europe
Afghanistan Algeria Germany England Saudi Arabia Argentina Austria Belgium Bolivia Bosnia Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cambodia Cameroon Canada Chile China Cyprus Colombia the Congo
Korea (Ia Coree du Nord =North Korea; Ia Coree du Sud = South Korea) Costa Rica
Ivory Coast Croatia Cuba Denmark Djibouti Scotland Egypt Ecuador Spain
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Jes Etats-Unis (m.) l'Ethiopie (f.) Ia Finlande Ia France
Ia Grande-Bretagne laGrece
le Guatemala HaYti Ia Hollande Ia Hongrie l'Inde (f.) l'Indonesie (f.) l'Irak (or: l'Iraq) (m.) l'Iran (m.)
I 'Irlande (f.) l'Islande (f.) Israel (m.) l'Italie (f.) leJapon JaJordanie leKenya leKowei:t le Laos Je Liban le Liberia Ia Libye le Luxembourg JaMalaisie le Maroc leMexique le Mozambique le Nicaragua le Nigeria
Ia Nouvelle-Zelande Ia Norvege
le Pakistan Je Paraguay Jes Pays-Bas (m.) Je Perou
les Philippines (f.) JaPologne le Portugal
Ia Republique tcheque (or: Ia Tchequie) laRoumanie
Ia Russie Ie Senegal Ia Serbie Ia Slovaquie le Soudan Ia Suede Ia Suisse Ia Syrie Ia Thallande
Prepositions the United States Ethiopia Finland France Great Britain Greece Guatemala Haiti Holland Hungary India Indonesia Iraq Iran
Ireland (l'Irlande du Nord= Northern Ireland) Iceland
Israel Italy Japan Jordan Kenya Kuwait Laos Lebanon Liberia Libya Luxembourg Malaysia Morocco Mexico Mozambique Nicaragua Nigeria New Zealand Norway Pakistan Paraguay the Netherlands Peru
the Philippines Poland Portugal
the Czech Republic Romania
Russia Senegal Serbia Slovakia Sudan Sweden Switzerland Syria Thailand
425
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426 A Complete French Grammar
Ia Tunisie Tunisia
Ia Turquie Turkey
!'Ukraine (f.) Ukraine
!'Uruguay (m.) Uruguay
le Venezuela Venezuela
Ie Vietnam Vietnam
leYemen Yemen
laZambie Zambia
leZimbabwe Zimbabwe
1. Prepositions used with continents and countries
• En is used to express in and to, and de (d') to express from with all continents and feminine countries, as well as with those masculine countries which start with a vowel. The definite article is not used.
(habiter) en Afrique, en Europe, en Argentine, en Suisse, en Iran, en Irak (to live) in Africa, in Europe, in Argentina, in Switzerland, in Iran, in lrak (aller) en Asie, en Antarctique, en Belgique, en Suede, en Norvege, en Equateur (to go) to Asia, to Antarctica, to Belgium, to Sweden, to Norway, to Ecuador (venir) d' Afrique, d'Europe, de Suisse, de Norvege, de Grece, d'Iran, d'Equateur
(to come) from Africa, from Europe, from Switzerland, from Norway, from Greece, from Iran, from Ecuador
• Au is used to express in and to, and du to express from when the country is masculine singular and does not begin with a vowel or mute h.
(habiter) au Danemark, au Japon, au Portugal, au Canada, au Bresil (to live) in Denmark, in Japan, in Portugal, in Canada, in Brazil (aller) au Chili, au Cambodge, au Mexique, au Liban, au Maroc (to go) to Chile, to Cambodia, to Mexico, to Lebanon, to Morocco
(venir) du Danemark, du Japon, du Portugal, du Bresil, du Canada, du Maroc
(to come) from Denmark, from Japan, from Portugal, from Brazil, from Canada, from Morocco
• When the name of the country is plural, aux expresses in and to, and des expresses from.
Nous voyageons aux Etats-Unis.
lis vont aux Pays-Bas.
II est originaire des Philippines.
We travel in the United States.
They are going to the Netherlands.
He is from the Philippines.
• When the geographical name does not have an article and does not begin with a vowel or mute h, a expresses in and to, and de expresses from. (See also Islands p. 428.)
a Hong-Kong in/to Hong-Kong a Monaco in/to Monaco
de Hong-Kong from Hong-Kong de Monaco from Monaco
a Cuba in/to Cuba a Singapour in/to Singapore
de Cuba from Cuba de Singapour from Singapore
a Madagascar in/to Madagascar a Taiwan in/to Taiwan
de Madagascar from Madagascar de Taiwan from Taiwan
Except:
au Bahrein in/to Bahrein du Bahrein from Bahrein
But en is used instead of a and d' instead of de if the name of the country begins with a vowel or mute h.
enAndorre in/to Andorra en Israel in/to Israel
d'Andorre from Andorra d'Israel from Israel
en Haiti in/to Haiti en Oman in/to Oman
d'Halti from Haiti d'Oman from Oman
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Prepositions Note:
- If the name of the country or continent is modified, dans + definite article is used to express in.
dans le Canada anglophone dans toute Ia France But:
in English speaking Canada in all of France
427
en Europe de I'Est I de l'Ouest en Amerique du Nord I du Sud
in Eastern I Western Europe in North I South America
en Amerique Iatine en Amerique centrale
in Latin America in Central America - When the name of the country is the same as the name of a city, French differentiates them in the following way:
alter au Luxembourg and venir du Luxembourg refer to the country al/er a Luxembourg and venir de Luxembourg refer to the city al/er au Mexique and venir du Mexique refer to the country alter a Mexico and venir de Mexico refer to Mexico City
Summary of the use of prepositions (to express in, to, and from) with cities, continents and countries
cities feminine countries + all continents + masc. masculine singular plural countries sing. countries beginning with a vowel countries
in, to a. en au
from de de do
Exercice 1
Faites des phrases completes en utilisant Ie verbe vivre et les prepositions qui conviennent.
Exemple: Pierre I Berlin I Allemagne: Pierre vita Berlin en Allemagne.
1. Annie I Vienne I Autriche 6. Jose I Caracas I Venezuela 2. Fran9ois et Anne I Lisbonne I Portugal 7. Emilie I Monte Carlo I Monaco 3. Jade I Istanbul/ Turquie
4. Emma I La Nouvelle-Orleans I Etats-Unis
8. Lena I LaHaye I Pays-Bas 9. Joseph I Bombay IInde
5. Marie I Le Mans I France 10. Vladimir I Moscou I Russie
Exercice 2
Completez avec Ia preposition qui convient (a, au, aux, en).
1. Ses parents habitent _ _ _ _ Allemagne.
2. Mon ami a de Ia famille Portugal, _ _ _ _ Ecosse et _ _ _ _ Afrique du Sud.
3. Nous irons Caire _ _ _ _ Egypte et Londres Grande-Bretagne.
4. Yolanda est nee Mexico Mexique.
5. J'ai immigre Etats-Unis en 1978.
aux des
6. II faut aller Perou pour voir 1e Machu Picchu, et Chine pour voir Ia Grande Muraille.
7. Le ôPain de Sucreằ est Rio Bresil. Le Taj Mahal est Inde.
8. Nous avons passe nos dernieres vacances Cuba et Haiti.
9. Les chutes du Niagara sont Amerique du Nord.
10. II a accepte un poste Israi!I.
11. Le Fujiyama est Japon _ _ _ _ Asie.
12. Je reve d'aller Finlande, Belgique et - - - - Danemark.
Exercice 3
Completez avec Ia preposition qui convient (de, d', do, des).
1. Yves est originaire Maroc.
2. Marie vient Angleterre.
3. Je voudrais que tu me rapportes un poster _ _ _ _ Pays-Bas.
4. S'il te plait, envoie-moi une carte postale Norvege.
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428 A Complete French Grammar 5. II reviendra Mozambique demain.
6. lis sont arrives Caire ce matin.
7. L'avion en provenance Singapour va atterrir dans deux minutes.
8. Es-tu parisienne?- Oui, je suis Paris.
9. Le colis Europe est finalement arrive.
10. Est-il deja revenu Philippines?
Exercice 4 Traduisez.
1. They spent their vacation in Greece.
2. She studied in Denmark.
3. They went to China last year.
4. Melbourne is in Australia.
5. I am going to Switzerland, Sweden and Norway.
6. He worked in Hungary for three months.
7. My brother lives in Spain.
8. She was born in South Korea.
9. Morocco is in North Africa.
10. We bought some silk in Thailand.
2. Prepositions used with islands
• En is used to translate inion and to, and de to express .from with some islands which are preceded by the feminine article such asIa Corse (Corsica), Ia Sardaigne (Sardinia), Ia Sicile (Sicily), Ia Jamai'que (Jamaica), Ia Crete.
(aller, habiter) en Corse, en (or: a Ia) Jamai'que, en Sardaigne, en Sicile, en Crete (venir) de Corse, de Jama'ique, de Sardaigne, de Sicile, de Crete
• A(+ article) is used to translate inion and to, and de(+ article) to express .from with other islands preceded by the feminine article, such as Ia Martinique, Ia Guadeloupe and Ia Reunion, which are also French overseas departments.
(aller, habiter) a Ia Reunion, a Ia (or: en) Guadeloupe, a Ia (or: en) Martinique (venir) de Ia Reunion, de Ia Guadeloupe, de Ia Martinique
• A is used to translate inion and to, and de to express from with islands (some of which are also countries) that are not preceded by an article such as Chypre (Cyprus), Malte (Malta), Cuba (Cuba), Majorque (Majorca), Hawai' [or: Hawaii], Sainte-Helene (Saint Helena), Madagascar (Madagascar), Tahiti (Tahiti), Porto Rico (Puerto Rico), Borneo, Mayotte.
(aller, habiter) a Chypre, a Cuba, a Madagascar, a Tahiti, a Porto Rico, a Borneo, a Mayotte
(venir) de Chypre, de Cuba, de Madagascar, de Tahiti, de Porto Rico, de Borneo, de Mayotte
• Aux is used to translate inion and to, des to express from with islands preceded by a plural definite article such as:
les Antilles the West Indies les Canaries the Canary Islands les Bahamas the Bahamas les Carai'bes the Caribbean les Bermudes the Bermudas Jes Seychelles the Seychelles les Baleares the Balearic Islands Jes A~ores the Azores
(aller, habiter) aux Antilles, aux Bahamas, aux Canaries, aux Caraibes, aux Seychelles (venir) des Antilles, des Bahamas, des Canaries, des Carai'bes, des Seychelles
3. Prepositions used with French provinces and regions
• With feminine French provinces and regions (such as Ia Bourgogne, Ia Champagne, Ia Bretagne, Ia Normandie, I'Aisace,la Lorraine, Ia Provence, Ia Touraine, l'ile-de-France, etc.) or masculine regions beginning with a vowel (such as I' Anjou), en (without an article) is used to translate in and to, and de (d') to express .from.
(aller, habiter) en Alsace, en Savoie, en Normandie, en Bretagne, en Provence, en ile-de-France, en Anjou (venir) d' Alsace, de Savoie, de Normandie, de Bretagne, de Provence, d'IIe-de-France, d' Anjou
• With masculine French provinces and regions beginning with a consonant (such as Ie Languedoc, le Perigord, le Midi, le Poitou, le Berry,le Limousin, le Roussillon), dans leis used to express in and to, and du to express .from.
(aller, habiter) dans le Languedoc, dans le Perigord, dans le Pays Basque, dans le Midi (to/in the South of France) (venir) du Languedoc, du Perigord, du Pays Basque, du Midi
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Prepositions 429
4. Prepositions used with French departments
With French departments, dans(+ article) is used to express in and to, and de(+ article) to express from.
(aller, habiter) dans le Gers, dans I' Ain, dans le Jura, dans Ia Creuse, dans Ia Vienne, dans Ia Dr6me, dans les Landes (venir) du Gers, de I' Ain, du Jura, de Ia Creuse, de Ia Vienne, de Ia Drome, des Landes
With some feminine departments (including the overseas department Ia Guyane), en is used to express in and to, and de (without an article) to express .from.
(aller, habiter) en Guyane, en Dordogne, en Loire-Atlantique, en Correze, en Gironde, en Savoie (venir) de Guyane, de Dordogne, de Loire-Atlantique, de Correze, de Gironde, de Savoie American states and Canadian provinces
a. American states I' Alabama (m.) I' Alaska (m.) I' Arizona (m.) I' Arkansas (m.) Ia Californie Ia Caroline du Nord Ia Caroline du Sud leColorado le Connecticut le Dakota du Nord Ie Dakota du Sud le Delaware Ia Floride Ia Georgie
Hawai' (m.) [= Ies Ties Hawai']
!'Idaho (m.) )'Illinois (m.) )'Indiana (m.) l'Iowa(m.) leKansas le Kentucky Ia Louisiane le Maine leMaryland le Massachusetts b. Canadian provinces
I' Alberta (m.)
Ia Colombie Britannique Ie Manitoba
Ie Nouveau-Brunswick Ia Nouvelle-Ecosse )'Ontario (m.) Ie Quebec Ia Saskatchewan
leMichigan le Minnesota le Mississippi le Missouri le Montana leNebraska le Nevada le New Hampshire le New Jersey le Nouveau-Mexique l'Etat de New York (m.)
!'Ohio (m.)
!'Oklahoma (m.)
!'Oregon (m.) Ia Pennsylvanie le Rhode Island le Tennessee leTexas J'Utah (m.) le Vermont Ia Virginie
Ia Virginie Occidentale I'Etat de Washington (m.) le Wisconsin
leWyoming
Alberta
British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick NovaSotia Ontario Quebec Saskatchewan
5. Prepositions used with American states and Canadian provinces
• When the French name of the American state or Canadian province is feminine, or masculine beginning with a vowel, en is generally used to translate in and to, and de (d') to express .from.
(aller, habiter) en Californie, en Floride, en Alaska, en Alberta, en Colombie Britannique, en Saskatchewan (venir) de Californie, de Floride, d' Alaska, d' Alberta, de Colombie Britannique, de Saskatchewan
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430 A Complete French Grammar
• When the French name of the American state or Canadian province is masculine and does not begin with a vowel, dans leis generally used to translate in and to, du to translate from.
(aller, habiter) dans le Michigan, dans le Wyoming, dans le Maine, dans le Vermont, dans le Manitoba (venir) du Michigan, du Wyoming, du Maine, du Vermont, du Manitoba
Except:
au Nouveau-Mexique in/to New Mexico au Quebec in/to Quebec
au Texas in/to Texas au Nouveau-Brunswick in/to New Brunswick
Note:
- Since Hawaii is an island, a is used to express in and to, and d' to express from.
Je suis aile a Hawa'i (Hawaii).
Elle vient d'Hawai" (Hawaii).
I went to Hawaii.
She comes from Hawaii
- Dans I' etat de and de l'etat de [ + name of the state without an article] can be used with any American state.
dans I' etat de Flori de dans l'etat d'Oregon
in/to Florida in/to Oregon
de l'etat de Floride de l'etat d'Oregon
from Florida from Oregon
- Dans Ia province de and de Ia province de[+ name of the province without an article] can be used with any Canadian province.
dans Ia province de Manitoba in/to Manitoba de Ia province de Manitoba from Manitoba - When the name of an American state or a Canadian province is the same as the name of a city, French
differentiates them in the following way:
aller a Washington and venir de Washington refer to Washington DC
aller dans l'etat de Washington and venir de l'etat de Washington refer to the state of Washington aller a New York and venir de New York refer to New York City
aller dans l'etat de New York and venir de l'etat de New York refer to the state of New York aller a Quebec and venir de Quebec refer to the city of Quebec
aller au Quebec and venir du Quebec refer to the province of Quebec Exercice 5
Completez avec Ia preposition qui convient.
1. Mes amis vont souvent Provence et Languedoc.
2. Es-tu deja aile Tahiti?
3. J'ai passe mes dernieres vacances Guadeloupe et Bahamas.
4. Mon frere a ouvert une boulangerie Arizona.
5. Cet ete, nous irons Californie, Texas et Maine.
6. Elle habite Hawai", mais son pere travaille _ _ _ _ Nouveau-Mexique.
7. D'oil etes-vous originaires?- Je vi ens Reunion et mon mari est originaire _ _ _ _ Hawai".
8. Quand es-tu rentre Michigan?
9.1ls sont alles Midi.
10. II est revenu Antilles bier soir.
11. Napoleon est ne Corse et mort _ _ _ _ Sainte-Helene.
12. La premiere femme de Napoleon etait originaire _ _ _ _ Martinique.
Exercice 6 Traduisez.
1. Mexico City is in Mexico.
2. My cousin often travels to Mexico City.
3. They bought a house in Washington DC.
4. He found a job in Washington (state).
5. Nicole is from Quebec City.
6. She will come back from Quebec (province) tomorrow.
7. We used to live in New York (city).
8. They travel in New York (state).
9. Did you spend the summer in Luxembourg (country)?
10. We have relatives in Luxembourg (city).
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Chapter27
Conjunctions (les conjonctions)
Conjunctions are invariable expressions which link two words or two clauses. They can consist of only one word (simple conjunctions) or of two or more words (compound conjunctions). There are two kinds of conjunctions:
a. Coordinating conjunctions (les conjonctions de coordination), which combine words or clauses of the same kind.
II est beau et intelligent. He is handsome and intelligent.
II a de I' argent, mais il ne veut pas Je depenser. He has money, but he doesn't want to spend it.
b. Subordinating conjunctions (les conjonctions de subordination), which link a main clause to a subordinate clause.
Je suis reste a Ia maison parce qu'il pleuvait.
J'attendraijusqu'a ce qu'il vienne.
I stayed at home because it was raining.
I will wait until he comes.