a village un village
l'Antarctique (f)
a country un pays
l'Asie (f)
a state
un état
l'Australie (f)
Natural Geography
l'Europe (f)
river
le fleuve
Oceans
mountain la montagne
l'Océan atlantique (m)
lake
le lac
l'Océan glacial arctique (m)
ocean
l'océan (m)
l'Océan indien (m)
Cardinal Directions
l'Océan pacifique (m)
north
le nord
Audio : French native speaker
south
le sud
east
l'est
west
l'ouest
Audio : French native speaker
G: Geography Prepositions
Cities
French native speaker
à is used to say in, at, to
Je vais à Paris. - I'm going to Paris
de is used to say from.
Je reviens de Paris. - I return from Paris.
cities that have articles as part of their names contract with the preposition if the city is masculine.
le Caire - Je vais au Caire. - Je reviens du Caire.
le Havre - Je vais au Havre. - Je reviens du Havre.
la Nouvelle-Orléans - Je vais à la Nouvelle-Orléans. - Je reviens de la Nouvelle-Orléans.
Feminine Regions, Countries, and Continents
Most geographical areas are feminine
Every French geographical area that ends in -e is feminine, with one or two exceptions.
Every continent is feminine.
en is used to say in, at, to for all feminine geographical areas except cities Je vais en France. - I go to France.
de is used to say from for all feminine geographical areas except cities Je reviens de France. - I return from France.
de is contracted to d' when followed by a vowel.
Je vais en Espagne. - Je reviens d' Espagne
Masculine Regions
all regions that do not end in a slient e are mascuiline
Audio : French native speaker
dans le is used to say in, at, to for most masculine regions, provinces, and states Je vais dans le Limousin. - I'm going to Limousin.
du, a contraction of de + le, is used to say from for most regions, provinces, and states Je reviens du Limousin. - I return from Limousin.
If a region is thought of or considered as its own sovereign state, au is used instead of dans le Je vais au Québec. - Je reviens du Québec. (Note: This is for the province of Québec. For the city of Québec, Je vais à Québec should be used. - Je reviens de Québec.)
Je vais au Texas. - Je reviens du Texas.
Masculine Countries Starting With a Consonant
all countries that do not end in a silent e are masculine
le Cambodge, le Mexique, le Zimbabwe, and le Mozambique are masculine
au is used to say in, at, to for masculine countries beginning with a consonant Je vais au Portugal. - I'm going to Portugal.
