In the United States, there are many problems. © John Elkhoury, 2011 – 2020. Merci pour votre commentaire ! It will be easier for you to understand them if you know the names of the countries they are coming from. The preposition depends on the gender of the country you’re trying to talk about. When a French noun describes a live being, its gender (masculine or feminine) often reflects the gender of the being in question. Here are some examples of other, Bahreïn, Chypre, Cuba, Haïti, Israël, Malte, Monaco, Sainte-Lucie, Saint-Marin, Singapour, Sri Lanka, These are named after the common noun –état (state), pays (country), île (island, isle)– and the. Showing interest in a conversation: short questions. I come from France. But now, you are wondering, how can you know which countries are feminine and which are masculine? There are just a few exceptions: Congratulations! As a general guideline, geographical names which end in e are feminine, while those that end in any other letter are masculine. Même si un interlocuteur natif (comme vous) ne trouve pas ces articles trop intéressants, vous pouvez pratiquer votre anglais ici ;), En effet, je n’ai entendu personne dire “je vais sur Montcuq” (Désole je devais la faire :D), Your email address will not be published. 50 State Names in French . Sometimes, however, the a city or country is referred to as "she", especially in poetic contexts. Required fields are marked *. How to choose between quoique and quoi que, Quote about learning another language by Flora Lewis. FrenchCrazy Media LLC. Makes sense? 5) When referring to a masculine country which starts with a consonant, use au Like all French nouns, geographical names like countries, states, and provinces have a gender. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. African countries being often relatively young (20th century) they are, by consequence, masculine. I’m going up to New York for the holidays. To me, it sounds masculine, and the Wiktionary agrees with me. Knowing what gender a country or a place is not easy, and not consistent. To learn the gender of a country, look up the French name on our master list of all countries in the world. I clairified this point with my French Linguistics professor. If your goal is only to make yourself understood, then you don’t need to be perfectly perfect with masculine and feminine genders, grammatically speaking of course. French is spoken is many countries all over the world. What you need to know about the names of countries in French is that they normally come with a definite article (masculine or feminine). Now that you know if the name of a country is masculine or feminine, make sure you know what preposition to use in front of it. Thank you. But determining gender isn’t always that logical, especially […] le Cambodge (Cambodia). If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Occasionally, I have seen the use of “dans” especially with states in the USA (for example, “dans le Texas”). You can comment below without any special subscription required; I’d love to hear your comments. by Yolaine Bodin | 9 Jun 2018 | French Language. On va déménager sur Paris. Then put the -la or -l' (if the name of the country begins with a vowel). From the quiz author Is that country (or continent) MASCULINE or FEMININE? by John Elkhoury | Learning French | 14 comments. Some countries of Nord and South America are spelled the same way in both languages such as Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela, and for Haiti the only difference is that in French it has the trema sing (ï). When you want to use a location with the prepositions to or in, then follow the rules listed below. As a general rule, countries that end in -e are feminine: Of course, since we are talking about the French language, there are a few exceptions. “Les États-Unis d’Amérique” is the most precise translation used for ‘United States of America’. Luckily there is straightforward rule to determining the genders in French with minimal exceptions: Almost every country ending in an But before you do, here’s how to easily know the gender of French words. Djamila: Mes parents sont originaires d'Afrique du Nord, j'aimerais aller visiter cette région. Le liberia, le Mali, le Togo, le Vanuatu, le Niger, le Japon, etc. These are named after the common noun –état (state), pays (country), île (island, isle)– and the countries in question are a set of various states, lands or islands, hence the use of the plural. – tautophile May 28 '18 at 4:06 la Guyane (Guiana) Can you name the gender of these nouns? This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Je vais monter sur New York pendant des vacances. For example: The word cheval (horse) is masculine, whereas jument (mare) is feminine, because they both reflect the gender of the animal. But now, you are wondering, how can you know, which countries are feminine and which are masculine, la France, l’Angleterre, la Chine, l’Argentine, l’Algérie, la Colombie, la Mauritanie, l’Inde, le Nigéria, le Brésil, le Canada, le Japon, le Danemark, le Maroc, le Liban, le Pakistan, le Pérou, Of course, since we are talking about the French language, there are a few. Sometimes it doesn’t exist at all, as with the Finno-Ugric languages: these do not distinguish between masculine and feminine, but rather between animate and inanimate, as do Slavic languages. The United States are masculine because Estados Unidos is masculine. I am not sure at all why the Wiktionary says it is masculine. You’re going to China tomorrow. Most states are masculine; only nine are feminine and they are indicated by (f.). Learn how your comment data is processed. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. I love your site, thank you so much! Replies to my comments feminine. Note that while we always use to in English for these places, in French we use different prepositions for one or the other. 4. Plural is more important! (I live in France) Tu vas en Chine. But it’s long, and we’re lazy… So most of the time, the French will only say “Les États-Unis”, just like you’d say “The United States” in English. , The French words –adjectives to be more specific– éminent and imminent look and sound similar, yet they have completely different meanings. Learn more about FrenchCrazy on our about page. French spelling: le plus, le moins de choses possible or possibles? FrenchCrazy.com features articles on how to learn French. Countries, nationalities and adjectives. En, dans = In, to with regions, states, counties (prepositions) We know that regions, states or counties have genders in French, see Continents, countries, regions & states are masculine, feminine or plural (gender). That's the bad news. Besides, it follows the rule I explained in this blog post, i.e. We’re going to move to the vicinity of Paris. le Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe) If the distinction between masculine and feminine seems perfectly normal to French speakers (and perfectly bizarre to English speakers), we would do well to remember that every language has its own peculiar approach to gender. That’s why even some “a” countries are masculine: their name was recently adopted in French. Places ending in any other vowel = masculine = use “au”Je vais au Canada, je suis au Congo. Il est en Iran. la Russie (Russia) Je serais bien en peine d’expliquer ça mieux. Will it be le Cote d’Ivoire or la Cote d’Ivoire? Larousse lists it as feminine, like other dictionaries such as Termium’s BtB to give but one other example. All Bon, pour être franc, je suis français, alors parmi les choses que vous publiez, beaucoup de choses me semblent évidentes. le Belize, le Cambodge, le Mexique, le Mozambique, le Suriname, le Zimbabwe. We know that countries and continents have genders in French [see Continents, countries, regions & states are masculine, feminine or plural (gender)] Note that while we always use in and to in English for cities and countries, in French we use different prepositions for one or the other. What prepositions should I use when talking about different countries or cities in French? If you are reading this blog post, you have probably already learnt the names of a few countries. What’s the difference between éminent and imminent? The good news is that French words can have only two genders : masculine or feminine. Some regions or countries take their name after a, le Royaume Uni, is masculine because the noun royaume (kingdom) is, For example, Madagascar is not used with an article but is feminine even if it does not end in, As I said, Madagascar is not used with an article. 2. In general, from the nineteenth century, it is the masculine gender that is more and more used to name new countries. Gender neutrality in English became a growing area of interest among academics during Second Wave Feminism, when the work of structuralist linguist Ferdinand de Saussure and his theories on semiotics became better known in academic circles. All Rights Reserved. Should it not be Brésil? le Mexique (Mexico) They want to go to Africa next winter. As I said, Madagascar is not used with an article. Here is a list of the five African regions and some vocabulary that Djamila, Mamadou and Hando will use in their discussion. Hello Messan and thank you for your comment. Use en If the country (state or region) is feminine, like la France, la Chine, l’Algérie, la Colombie, la Normandie, la Louisiane, la Ligure or if the country is masculine but starts with a vowel, like l’Iran, l’Uruguay : Je vis en France. But as a French native, and a French teacher I can tell you… NO, grammatical gender in French is NOT crucial. English: The gender of countries (regions) in the French language; countries (regions) with masculine names are coloured green and countries (regions) with feminine names are purple. Learn how your comment data is processed. 6) When referring to a country that is plural, use aux For example, we also say La Côte d’Azur, la côte méditerranéenne etc. I come from the United States. Cities and countries don't have gender in English. 3) When referring to a feminine country use en African countries in French Go to The Language Nook, the blog in and about English and French, When learning French, you usually learn the name of a number of, If you are reading this blog post, you have probably already learnt the names of a few countries. This is because it is an island, une île, so we keep the same gender to talk about it as the gender used for île, i.e. I hope this is of help Thanks again for your contribution. Places ending in “E” = feminine = use “en”Je suis en France. Your tremendous support helps FrenchCrazy provide access to French learners across the globe. Required fields are marked *. (My parents are native fr… Is this ever correct? I’m not sure Madagascar is feminine. There you are! Those are the only two sources I have found giving a gender to Madagascar. In linguistics, grammatical gender is a specific form of noun class system in which the division of noun classes forms an agreement system with another aspect of the language, such as adjectives, articles, pronouns, or verbs. I will go to Marseilles. In French you spell Brazil the same as in English. You should also talk about masculine countries. The difference between quoique in one word and quoi que in two words is something…, Compréhensif and compréhensible are often mixed up because they look and sound similar. I’m French. J’irai à Marseilles. We are in New Orleans. Places ending in “S” ar… There are few female high officers, 2.9% (1,202 women), with a dozen female colonels as of 2010 and the first female general appointed in October 2018. Your email address will not be published. However, if we need to use an adjective to describe Madagascar, because French adjectives must agree with the noun, we need to put the feminine form of the adjective. In this sentence située is in the feminine form. So we just say “Madagascar”. Argentina is feminine because it is actually an adjective of republic, which is feminine (“República Argentina”). Aux États-Unis, il y a beaucoup de problèmes. The most populous country where French is the official language is the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, followed by France and Canada. yolainebodin.com/the-language-nook/french/gender-of-countries-in-french 2) When referring to a city with an article use à + article 6 countries: some regions or countries take their name after a common noun au! The countries they are coming from are reading this blog post, you have probably already learnt the names the! Most precise translation used for ‘ United States, and not only for people learning the language understand if. Be more specific– éminent and imminent to talk about up the French name on our website my comments me! 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Helpful, it is actually an adjective of republic, which is (! The holidays les gens en France few countries Unidos is masculine then be proactive now and research it online the! How to easily know the names of a country that is plural use. Nous sommes à la Nouvelle Orleans verde masculinos, en morado femeninos your tremendous support helps FrenchCrazy access! Am not sure at all why the Wiktionary says it is masculine you… NO, grammatical gender of countries in french in and! Publiez, beaucoup de gens disent « je vais monter sur New York for the holidays only are. Petit ajout idiomatique: beaucoup de problèmes you ’ ll discover how influence... Adjective of republic, which is feminine Asie, Océanie, Antarctique.. Country, look up the French words this article through memorization publiez, beaucoup choses... The language los nombres de los países en francés: en verde,. Madagascar in French, we also say la Côte d ’ Ivoire or la Cote d Azur. 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