When do you use en, au or aux with countries?

Use en before feminine countries and before any country starting with a vowel (en France, en Iran), au before masculine countries (au Canada, au Japon) and aux before plural ones (aux États-Unis).

Is it à or en with cities?

With cities it’s à: à Vancouver, à Québec. Note the difference: à Québec is the city, au Québec is the province.

How do I say “in” with each Canadian province and territory?

au Québec, au Manitoba, au Nouveau-Brunswick, au Yukon, au Nunavut; en Ontario, en Alberta, en Colombie-Britannique, en Nouvelle-Écosse, en Saskatchewan; à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard, à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest.

French prepositions with countries and cities: à, en, au or aux?

Le passeport

Complete each sentence with the right little word before a place: à, en, au, aux… or de, d’, du, des. Cities, countries, Canadian provinces and islands each follow a rule. Fill all 12 pages of your passport with stamps.

3 min a round
Free, no sign-up
Writing
Speaking

How to play

1Complete the sentence with the right little word before the place: à, en, au, aux… or de, d’, du, des.
2Cities, countries, provinces and islands each follow a rule: a wrong answer shows you which.
3Every right answer stamps your passport. Fill all 12 pages.

What it trains

Prepositions of place for 127 cities, countries, provinces, territories and islands, both ways: going to or living in (à, en, au, aux) and coming from (de, d’, du, des).

Why it matters for TCF and TEF Canada

Where you live, where you come from and where you plan to settle come up again and again in the speaking and writing tasks. J’habite au Canada, je viens du Maroc, je travaille en Ontario: getting these right is a quick, visible gain in accuracy.

Practise writing in the real format: TCF Canada writing practice · TEF Canada writing practice

Learn while you play

Rules and tips to remember

Cities take à
à Montréal, à Toronto, à Paris. Coming from: de Montréal, d’Ottawa.
Feminine places and vowels take en
Most countries ending in -e are feminine: en France, en Inde, en Colombie-Britannique. Any name starting with a vowel takes en too: en Iran, en Ontario, en Alberta.
Masculine takes au, plural takes aux
au Canada, au Québec, au Manitoba; aux États-Unis, aux Philippines. Watch the masculine names ending in -e: au Mexique, au Cambodge.
Coming from: de, d’, du, des
Feminine: de France; vowel: d’Iran; masculine: du Canada; plural: des États-Unis.
Canada’s special cases
à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard, à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador and aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest follow their own forms.

From the blog

Go deeper on the blog

Au Québec or en Québec? French Prepositions for Provinces
Au Québec, en Ontario, à l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard: the right French preposition for every Canadian province, territory and city, with rules and a quiz.
8 min read

FAQ