Is it au Canada or en Canada?

It is au Canada, because Canada is masculine and starts with a consonant (à + le = au). Coming from, you say du Canada: Je viens du Canada.

When do you use à, en, au or aux in French?

Use à with cities, en with feminine places and any place starting with a vowel, au with masculine places and aux with plural ones. For example: à Montréal, en France, au Japon, aux États-Unis.

How do you say “in Ontario” and “in Quebec” in French?

En Ontario (a vowel, so en) and au Québec for the province. For Quebec City, it is à Québec, like any city.

Is it de or du after venir?

It depends on the place: du before masculine names (du Brésil), de or d’ before feminine names and cities (de France, d’Ottawa), and des before plural names (des Philippines).

Is Hockey free to play?

Yes. The first 6 levels are free with no sign-up, and levels 7 to 12 are free with an account, which also saves your stars on every device. Levels 13 to 30 come with Premium, together with every 3D game’s later levels and all the mock tests.

French prepositions quiz: au, en, à or aux? Score on the hockey rink

Le hockey

A French prepositions quiz where every right answer is a goal. Read the sentence, pick the corner of the net with the missing word (à, en, au, aux, de, d’, du, des) and shoot past the goalie. A season of 30 levels takes you from à Paris and en France to the exam traps, au Caire and à La Havane, until you say au Québec and en Ontario without stopping to think.

3 min a round
30 levels
First 6 levels free, no sign-up
Writing
Speaking

3D game: plays full screen on phones.

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30 levels, 5 worlds

From the basics to exam speed

Each level is one round of about 3 minutes. Win a star to open the next level, and replay for three stars. The first 6 levels are free with no sign-up, levels 7–12 with a free account, and Premium opens all 30.

World 1 · levels 1–6
À, en, au
À, en, au
Going to and living in: à for cities, en for feminine countries, au for masculine ones (au Mexique!).
· Free, no sign-up
World 2 · levels 7–12
Vowels, plurals, islands
Voyelles et pluriels
en Iran, aux Philippines, à Cuba, en Haïti: the rules that catch most learners.
· Free account
World 3 · levels 13–18
Canada coast to coast
D’un océan à l’autre
Provinces, territories and cities, with the exceptions: à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard. A shot clock starts.
· Premium
World 4 · levels 19–24
Coming from
D’où viens-tu ?
de, d’, du, des: Je viens du Maroc, Elle revient d’Ontario.
· Premium
World 5 · levels 25–30
Playoffs
Les séries
Both directions at exam speed, with the traps: au Caire, à La Havane, au Honduras.
· Premium

How to play

1Read the sentence: one little word is missing before the place.
2Tap the corner of the net with the right preposition (or flick the puck).
3Right is a goal. Miss, and the rule shows up before the next shot. Score enough goals for up to three stars.

What it trains

Prepositions with 228 cities, countries, Canadian provinces, territories and islands, in both directions: living in or going to (J’habite au Canada, Je pars en Alberta) and coming from (Elle revient du Japon, Je viens d’Inde).

Why it matters for TCF and TEF Canada

Introducing yourself, your country of origin and where you want to settle in Canada is at the heart of the TCF Canada and TEF Canada speaking and writing tasks. A wrong en Canada or à Québec for the province is noticed at once; getting these small words right is an easy accuracy gain on the way to NCLC 7 for Express Entry or NCLC 4 for citizenship.

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

Learn while you play

Rules and tips to remember

Gender decides en or au
Feminine countries and provinces take en (en France, en Colombie-Britannique); masculine ones take au (au Canada, au Manitoba). Most names ending in -e are feminine, but watch au Mexique and au Cambodge.
A vowel always gives en
Any country or province starting with a vowel takes en, masculine or not: en Ontario, en Iran, en Alberta. Coming from, it becomes d’: d’Ontario, d’Iran.
Coming from: de + le = du
The article merges with de: du Canada, des États-Unis, but de France (feminine names drop the article). Say the sentence aloud: Je viens du Maroc, Elle revient des Philippines.
Québec, city or province?
The city takes à (à Québec), the province takes au (au Québec). The same trap exists with à Mexico (the city) and au Mexique (the country).

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

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