French Countries, Nationalities and Languages (with en, au, aux)
Getting Started
“Where are you from?” and “What languages do you speak?” come up in the first minute of the TEF/TCF speaking section, and in every new introduction in Canada. This lesson covers three things: countries and the preposition that goes with them (en, au, aux), nationalities in both genders, and languages.
1. Countries
In French, countries have a gender and an article: la France, le Canada, les États-Unis.
| French | English | Example | Example (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| le Canada | Canada | Le Canada est très grand. | Canada is very big. |
| l’Inde | India | L’Inde a beaucoup de langues. | India has many languages. |
| le Pakistan | Pakistan | Il est né au Pakistan. | He was born in Pakistan. |
| les États-Unis | United States | Les États-Unis sont au sud. | The United States is to the south. |
| la France | France | La France est en Europe. | France is in Europe. |
| le Royaume-Uni | United Kingdom | Mon oncle vit au Royaume-Uni. | My uncle lives in the UK. |
| le Mexique | Mexico | On va au Mexique en hiver. | We go to Mexico in winter. |
| la Chine | China | Elle vient de Chine. | She comes from China. |
| les Philippines | Philippines | Il vient des Philippines. | He comes from the Philippines. |
| le Maroc | Morocco | Le Maroc est francophone. | Morocco is French-speaking. |
2. en, au, aux, à: “in” or “to”
To be in a country or go to it, the preposition depends on the country’s gender. To come from it, the form of de changes the same way.
| Type of place | In / to | From | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feminine (mostly -e) | en | de / d’ | J’habite en Inde. Je viens d’Inde. |
| Masculine | au | du | Je vis au Canada. Il vient du Pakistan. |
| Plural | aux | des | Elle travaille aux États-Unis. Je viens des Philippines. |
| City | à | de / d’ | J’habite à Brampton. Je viens de Ludhiana. |
Exceptions: le Mexique and le Cambodge end in -e but are masculine: au Mexique. Masculine countries that start with a vowel take en: en Iran, en Afghanistan.
Provinces mostly follow the same rule: en Ontario, en Colombie-Britannique, en Alberta, but au Québec (the province) and au Manitoba. For Québec City, say à Québec.
The full rules are in Preposition en and à, au, à la, aux.
3. Nationalities
Nationalities change with gender like adjectives. In the feminine the final consonant is often pronounced: français /fʁɑ̃sɛ/ → française /fʁɑ̃sɛz/.
| French | English | Example | Example (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| indien / indienne | Indian | Ma femme est indienne. | My wife is Indian. |
| pakistanais / pakistanaise | Pakistani | Mon voisin est pakistanais. | My neighbour is Pakistani. |
| canadien / canadienne | Canadian | Mes enfants sont canadiens. | My children are Canadian. |
| québécois / québécoise | from Québec | Ma collègue est québécoise. | My colleague is from Québec. |
| français / française | French | Le chef est français. | The chef is French. |
| américain / américaine | American | C’est une entreprise américaine. | It’s an American company. |
| mexicain / mexicaine | Mexican | J’adore la cuisine mexicaine. | I love Mexican food. |
| chinois / chinoise | Chinese | Il y a un restaurant chinois ici. | There’s a Chinese restaurant here. |
| philippin / philippine | Filipino | Mon amie est philippine. | My friend is Filipino. |
| britannique | British | Il a un passeport britannique. | He has a British passport. |
Capital or lowercase:
- Adjective (describing someone) → lowercase: Je suis indien. Elle est canadienne.
- Noun (a person) → capital: un Indien, les Canadiens.
Je suis indien takes no article; to use an article, switch to c’est: C’est un Indien. See C’est vs Il est.
4. Languages
Languages are always masculine and lowercase. After parler the article is often dropped: Je parle français (or le français).
| French | English | Example | Example (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| le punjabi | Punjabi | Je parle punjabi à la maison. | I speak Punjabi at home. |
| l’hindi | Hindi | Elle comprend l’hindi. | She understands Hindi. |
| l’ourdou | Urdu | Il lit l’ourdou. | He reads Urdu. |
| l’anglais | English | J’ai appris l’anglais à l’école. | I learned English at school. |
| le français | French | J’apprends le français. | I’m learning French. |
| l’espagnol | Spanish | Mon fils étudie l’espagnol. | My son studies Spanish. |
| l’arabe | Arabic | L’arabe s’écrit de droite à gauche. | Arabic is written right to left. |
| la langue maternelle | mother tongue | Ma langue maternelle est le punjabi. | My mother tongue is Punjabi. |
| bilingue | bilingual | Ce poste demande une personne bilingue. | This job requires a bilingual person. |
Note: the standard French spelling for the Punjabi language is punjabi, though punjabi is also common and understood. The region is le Punjab: Je viens du Punjab.
5. Three Canadian words
Canada often describes people by their mother tongue. These words appear constantly in the news, in government statistics and in TEF/TCF texts:
| French | English | Example | Example (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| francophone | French speaker | Montréal est une ville francophone. | Montréal is a French-speaking city. |
| anglophone | English speaker | Mon patron est anglophone. | My boss is an English speaker. |
| allophone | speaker of another mother tongue | Les allophones sont nombreux à Toronto. | There are many allophones in Toronto. |
So in Canadian terms, Punjabi speakers are allophones, and learning French often makes them speakers of three or four languages.
6. Putting it together
Je m’appelle Harjit. Je suis indien, je viens du Punjab, et j’habite au Canada depuis trois ans, à Surrey. Ma langue maternelle est le punjabi. Je parle aussi hindi, anglais et un peu français.
(My name is Harjit. I’m Indian, I’m from Punjab, and I’ve lived in Canada for three years, in Surrey. My mother tongue is Punjabi. I also speak Hindi, English and a little French.)
Practice
Fill in en, au, aux or à.
- Ma sœur habite ______ Australie. (l’Australie)
- Mon oncle travaille ______ Royaume-Uni.
- Nous allons ______ Montréal ce week-end.
- Ils ont de la famille ______ États-Unis.
- J’ai étudié ______ Pakistan.
- On passe l’été ______ Mexique.
Answers
- en (feminine) · 2. au (masculine) · 3. à (city) · 4. aux (plural) · 5. au (masculine) · 6. au (le Mexique, an exception)
What’s Next
FAQ
Why en Inde but au Canada?
Feminine countries (mostly ending in -e) take en: en Inde, en France. Masculine countries take au: au Canada, au Pakistan. Plural countries take aux: aux États-Unis. Cities take à: à Toronto.
Is Indien capitalised?
As a noun (a person), yes: un Indien, une Indienne. As an adjective, no: Il est indien. Languages are always lowercase: le français, le punjabi.
What does allophone mean?
In Canada, an allophone is someone whose mother tongue is neither French nor English, such as a Punjabi speaker. The word appears constantly in government statistics and the news.
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