French For Football/Grammar/Prepositions

À and De
The preposition à can indicate a destination, a location, a characteristic, measurement, a point in time, purpose, and several other things which will be covered later.

When le follows à, the à and le combine into au. Similarly, à and les combine into aux.

The preposition de can indicate an origin, contents, possession, cause, manner, and several other things which will be covered later.

When le follows de, the de and le combine into du. Similarly, de and les combine into des.

Cities
[[media:French-Vacances4.ogg|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 : [[media:French-Vacances5.ogg|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.
 * du is used to say from for masculine countries beginning with a consonant
 * Je reviens du Portugal. - I return from Portugal.

Plural Countries
Audio : [[media:French-Vacances6.ogg|French native speaker]]
 * aux, a contraction of à + les, is used to say in, to, as if a plural article is part of the name of a country
 * Je vais aux États-Unis. - I'm going to the United States. (pronounced aytahzoohnee)
 * des, a contraction of de + les, is used to say from if a plural article is part of the name of a country
 * Je reviens des États-Unis. - I return from the United States.

Masculine Countries Starting With a Vowel

 * en is used to say in, at, to for all masculine countries beginning with a vowel
 * Je vais en Israël. - I'm going to Israel.
 * d' is used to say from for all masculine countries beginning with a vowel
 * Je reviens d' Israël. - I return from Israel.

Check For Understanding

 * Are all French countries ending in e feminine?
 * What geographical areas use the preposition dans le?
 * What prepositions do countries beginning with vowels use?
 * What prepositions does the city of Quebec use? ...the province of Quebec?

Acknowledgements
This page is based on original text from French/Grammar/Prepositions dated 21 January 2010.