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Prepositions with Places: à and en

FoundationHigherAQA

Master Prepositions with Places: à and en for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). À is used with towns and en with most countries, following the gender of the place.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

Saying to or in a place depends on whether the place is a town or a country, and if a country, on its gender.

For towns, use à: je vais à Paris, j'habite à Londres. The same word covers both to and in, which simplifies matters considerably.

For countries it depends on gender. Feminine countries take en with no article: en France, en Espagne, en Italie. Masculine countries take au: au Portugal, au Canada, au Japon. Plural countries take aux: aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas. Most countries ending in -e are feminine, with le Mexique the main exception worth knowing.

Revision notes

Towns take à

Je vais à Paris. J'habite à Londres. Elle travaille à Marseille.

The same preposition covers both to and in, so no distinction needs to be made. No article is used with town names.

Countries by gender

Feminine countries take en: en France, en Espagne, en Italie, en Allemagne.

Masculine countries take au: au Portugal, au Canada, au Japon, au Maroc. Plural countries take aux: aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas.

Identifying gender

Most countries ending in -e are feminine: la France, l'Espagne, l'Italie.

The main exception is le Mexique, which ends in -e but is masculine. Countries ending in other letters are usually masculine: le Portugal, le Canada, le Japon.

Key points

  • Towns take à for both to and in.
  • Feminine countries take en.
  • Masculine countries take au.
  • Plural countries take aux.
  • Most countries ending in -e are feminine.
  • Le Mexique is the main exception.

Worked examples

Example 1

Translate: I am going to Paris. [2 marks]

Working

Je vais à Parisuse à with the town name
À covers both to and in with towns, and no article is usedexplain the preposition

Example 2

Translate: I live in France. [2 marks]

Working

J'habite en Franceuse en with the feminine country
En is used because France is feminine, and no article follows itexplain the choice

Example 3

Translate: she is going to Portugal. [2 marks]

Working

Elle va au Portugaluse au with the masculine country
Au is used because Portugal is masculineexplain the choice

Common mistakes

  • Using à with countries.

    Countries take en, au or aux.

  • Adding an article after en.

    En France, not en la France.

  • Assuming every -e country is feminine.

    Le Mexique is masculine.

  • Using au for plural countries.

    Aux États-Unis, not au États-Unis.

Exam tips

  • Use à for all towns.
  • Check the country's gender first.
  • Never add an article after en.
  • Learn le Mexique as the exception.

Key terms

À
The preposition used with towns.
En
The preposition for feminine countries.
Au
The preposition for masculine countries.
Aux
The preposition for plural countries.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.