Prepositions used before country names (2/2)
When talking about a country, a region or a continent where we come from, we use the following prepositions:
| Country | Preposition |
|---|---|
| ♀ (ending in e) | je viens... I come (from)... je suis originaire... I originate (from)... de France France Belgique Belgium Californie California |
| ♂ | du Sénégal Senegal Canada Canada Maroc Morocco |
| ♂ or ♀ + vowel | d’ Iran Iran Europe Europe Algérie Algeria |
| ♀♀ ♂♂ | des États-Unis the United States Pays-Bas the Netherlands |
When speaking about a town where we come from, we use the preposition de.
Je viens de New-York I come from New York.
J'arrive de Lomé I'm arriving from Lomé.
Je suis originaire de Montréal I originate from Montreal.
J'arrive de Lomé I'm arriving from Lomé.
Je suis originaire de Montréal I originate from Montreal.
Note: When city names take an article (le, la), it stays there.
Je viens de La Rochelle (the city is La Rochelle)
Je suis originaire de La Havane.
Je viens du Mans (the city is Le Mans)
Je suis originaire de La Havane.
Je viens du Mans (the city is Le Mans)
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