Au Québec or en Québec? French Prepositions for Provinces

Say au Québec for the province and à Québec for Quebec City. More generally, French uses à before a city, en before a feminine place or one that starts with a vowel, au before a masculine place that starts with a consonant, and aux before a plural one. So it's au Québec, au Manitoba, au Nouveau-Brunswick, but en Ontario, en Alberta, en Colombie-Britannique.

Two provinces break the pattern because they are islands: à l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard and à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. Below you'll find the rule in one table, the full list for all 13 provinces and territories, how to say "from", the country forms newcomers need most, and a quick quiz.

The rule in one table

Every place name in French has a gender (and sometimes a number), even if you rarely see its article. The preposition for "in" or "to" follows from that.

How do you know the gender? Most place names that end in -e are feminine (la Colombie-Britannique, la Nouvelle-Écosse, la France), and most others are masculine (le Québec, le Manitoba, le Canada). There are exceptions, like le Mexique and le Cambodge, which is why it helps to learn each name with its article.

Every Canadian province and territory

Here are the forms the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) recommends for "in" or "to". Learn the ones where you live and where you'd like to live first.

The two traps that catch the most learners are Ontario (masculine, yet en, because of the vowel) and Alberta (it ends in -a, but it's feminine: l'Alberta, en Alberta).

The game above mixes provinces, Canadian cities and the countries newcomers come from most often. A wrong answer shows you which rule applies, so you learn the pattern, not just the answer.

Want it faster? The same rules power a 3D hockey game: shoot the puck into the corner with au, en, à or aux before the goalie moves.

Québec the city vs Québec the province

French uses the same word for both, and the preposition tells them apart:

• J'habite à Québec. I live in Quebec City.
• J'habite au Québec. I live in the province of Quebec (perhaps in Montréal).

When there's any risk of confusion, say la ville de Québec for the city. For the province, the OQLF notes that after the word province there is no article: la province de Québec. Elsewhere the article comes back: le gouvernement du Québec, les régions du Québec.

If you're considering Quebec's own immigration programs, our guide to Quebec immigration French requirements explains the levels each one asks for.

Saying "from": de, d', du, des

For "from" (or "of"), the same logic gives de for cities and feminine places, du (de + le) for masculine ones, and des (de + les) for plural ones. Before a vowel, de becomes d'.

For feminine countries, French drops the article after verbs of coming and going: je viens de France, elle arrive d'Algérie. With feminine and vowel-initial provinces, both forms are in use, so you'll hear je viens de l'Ontario and je viens d'Ontario. Either is understood; pick one and use it consistently.

Countries newcomers mention most

When you introduce yourself in the speaking test, you'll almost certainly say where you're from. The same rules apply:

And the one you'll use most: au Canada, du Canada.

For US states, the OQLF uses the same logic: en Californie, en Floride (feminine), au Texas (masculine; dans le Texas also works), and dans l'État de New York to separate the state from the city.

Why this matters on the TCF and TEF Canada

Both tests assess grammatical accuracy in writing and speaking, and place names come up constantly: where you live, where you work, where you want to settle, where a news story happens. A wrong preposition won't stop the examiner from understanding you, but small errors repeated in every answer make your French sound less controlled, and control is part of what separates NCLC 5 from NCLC 7.

Here's a short self-introduction of the kind you might give in TCF Canada speaking task 1 or at the start of a TEF role-play. It's our own example, not an official subject.

Practise saying your own version out loud, with a timer. Our TCF Canada speaking practice and TCF speaking task 2 examples give you more prompts. If French could open a pathway for you, immigrate to Canada with French lists every option, and the French for Express Entry guide explains what each NCLC level is worth.

Common mistakes to avoid

• En Québec for the province. It's au Québec.
• À Ontario, treating the province like a city. It's en Ontario.
• Au Alberta or au Colombie-Britannique. Both are feminine: en.
• En Canada. Canada is masculine: au Canada.
• En Île-du-Prince-Édouard. It's an island name: à l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard.
• Mixing up the city and the province of Quebec. Check whether you mean à Québec or au Québec.

Quick quiz: test yourself

Fill each gap, then check the answers below.

1. Mon frère travaille ___ Alberta.
2. Nous avons déménagé ___ Manitoba l'an dernier.
3. Elle étudie ___ Ottawa.
4. Ils vivent ___ Île-du-Prince-Édouard.
5. Je viens ___ Maroc.
6. Mes parents habitent ___ Philippines.
7. Le salon de l'emploi a lieu ___ Québec, la capitale.
8. Il cherche un emploi ___ Ontario.

Want more rounds? The Passport game has many more sentences with every Canadian province, major cities and dozens of countries, and our roundup of free French learning games covers the rest of grammar, vocabulary and listening. Play Passport or browse the whole French games page.

Our take

Four forms cover almost every case: à for cities, en for feminine and vowel-initial places, au for masculine ones, aux for plurals. Learn the two island exceptions and the Ontario trap, and you'll get Canadian place names right every time. Then find out where your French stands overall with the free French level check, or try a full mock test in the TCF or TEF format from the TCF Canada practice test hub.

We're an independent prep site, not affiliated with the Office québécois de la langue française, France Éducation international, Le français des affaires or IRCC.