Prepositions with Cities and Countries

The secret to this rule is classification. French breaks locations into three main groups. First, we have cities. They are the easiest part of the trip. Next, we have countries. Countries are divided by their gender and number. Most countries ending in -e are feminine. Most countries ending in a consonant are masculine. Some countries are plural, like the United States. Finally, we have countries starting with a vowel. These behave a bit differently to keep the sound smooth. You choose your preposition based on these groups. It is like choosing the right adapter for your travel plugs. Once you know the category, the word follows automatically. This system helps native speakers keep a nice rhythm when they speak. It sounds more complicated than it actually is in practice. You just need to look at the last letter of the country.

1. 1Check if the destination is a city. If yes, use à. Always.
2. 2Look at the country name. Does it end in -s or -x? Use aux.
3. 3Does the country start with a vowel? Use en. Even if it is masculine.
4. 4Does the country end in -e? Use en. This means it is feminine.
5. 5Does it end in a consonant? Use au. This means it is masculine.
6. 6Watch out for the "Mexico" trap. It ends in -e but uses au.

You use these prepositions whenever you talk about being somewhere. This applies to living in a place or staying there. It also applies to moving toward a destination. If you are going on vacation, use these rules. If you are describing your home, use these rules. You will need this during job interviews to discuss your background. You will use it when ordering food and talking about origins. It is essential for asking or giving directions to travelers. Use à for à Paris or à Tokyo. Use en for en France or en Espagne. Use au for au Japon or au Canada. Finally, use aux for aux États-Unis or aux Pays-Bas. It covers both the "where you are" and "where you are going."

Do not use these prepositions when you are coming from a place. That requires a different set of words like de or du. We are strictly looking at "in" or "to" today. Avoid using dans for countries and cities. Using dans makes it sound like you are physically inside a container. You are not "inside" France like you are inside a box. Also, do not use these for people's houses. If you go to Marc's house, you use chez. Do not use à for specific buildings like the cinema or school. Those have their own special rules with articles. Stick to the map for now. These rules are purely for geographical entities. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Only move forward with these words for cities and countries.

The biggest mistake is using à for every destination. English speakers love to say Je vais à France. This will make a French person's ears twitch. Remember, à is only for cities. Another classic trip-up is the gender of countries. Many people forget that le Mexique is masculine. They try to say en Mexique because of that final -e. It is a rebel country in the grammar world! Always use au Mexique. Also, watch out for the plural aux. People often say en États-Unis by accident. It needs that plural "x" to sound correct. Plural countries are rare, so they are easy to forget. Finally, don't forget the vowel rule. Iran is masculine, but we say en Iran. This avoids a clunky sound like au Iran. French hates two vowels hitting each other like that.

In English, we have one word for almost everything. We say "in London" and "in France." French is much more precise and stylish. It distinguishes between the point on a map (city) and the territory (country). It is similar to how we use "at" vs "in" sometimes. But in French, the distinction is mandatory. Some learners confuse à with au. Remember that au is actually a contraction of à and le. Since masculine countries use the article le, they merge into au. Feminine countries don't merge, they just use en. This is why there is no à la France. It just becomes en France. It is a bit like a chemical reaction in grammar. Some elements combine, while others stay separate. Understanding this contraction helps you see the logic behind the change.