I typed the Geographical Expressions, etc. in Word and made a PDF to post here. Hopefully you can read it far better.
FRENCH: GEOGRAPHICAL EXPRESSIONS
The definite article is used with names of countries,
continents, provinces, mountains, and bodies ofwater, but NOT with names of cities.
PREPOSITIONS WITH PLACE NAMES:
To express “to” or “in” with place names:
en feminine countries en Suisse
continents en Amérique
provinces en Bourgogne
au,aux masculine
countries au Mexique
aux États-Unis
dans + modified
countries dans la belle France
definite continents dans lʼAmérique article du Sud
à cities à Bruxelles
To express “from” with place names:
de feminine countries de Suisse
continents dʼAmérique
provinces de Bourgogne
de + def. art masculine countries
du Méxique
def. art. modified countries
de la belle France
continents
de lʼAmérique du
Sud
de cities de Bruxelles
NOTE: 1. With masculine countries, the definite article is always used
2. A few cities always have an article in French, since the article is part of the name:
to, in
from: le Havre = au Havre / du Havre
la Nouvelle-Orléans = à la
Nouvelle-Orléans / de la Nouvelle-Orléans
FEMININE COUNTRIES, CONTINENTS,
PROVINCES:
lʼAlgérie, Algeria lʼEspagne, Spain
lʼAllemagne, Germany la France, France
lʼAngleterre,England la Grande- Bretagne, Great
Britain
lʼArgentine,Argentina la Grèce, Greece
lʼAutriche, Austria la Hungary, Hungary
la Belgique, Belgium lʼInde, India
la Chine, China lʼIrlande, Ireland
lʼÉcosse, Scotland lʼItalie, Italy
la Norvège, Norway la Suède, Sweden
la Pologne, Poland la Suisse, Switzerland
la Roumanie, Rumania la Tunisie, Tunisia
la Russie, Russia la Turquie, Turkey
lʼAfrique, Africa lʼAlsace, Alsace
lʼAmérique, America la Bourgogne, Burgundy
lʼAmérique du Nord, la Bretagne, Brittany
North America
lʼAmérique du Sud, la Champagne, Champagne
South America la Corse, Corsica
lʼAsie, Asia la Flandre, Flanders
lʼAustralie,Australia la Lorraine,
Lorraine
lʼEurope, Europe la Normandie, Normandy
la Provence, Provence
MASCULINE COUNTRIES:
le Brésil, Brazil le Maroc, Morocco
le Canada, Canada le Méxique, Mexico
le Chili, Chile le Pakistan, Pakistan
le Danemark, Denmark les Pays-Bas, the
Netherlands
les États-Unis, the le Pérou, Peru
United States le Portugal,
Portugal
le Japon, Japan
MOUNTAINS AND WATERWAYS:
les Alpes (f.),the Alps la Loire, the Loire
le Jura, the Jura le Rhin, the Rhine
Mountains le Rhône, the Rhone
les Pyrénées (f.), the la Seine, the Seine
Pyrenees la Manche, the English
les Vosges (f.) the Channel
Vosges Mountains la mer Méditerranée, the
le mont Blanc, Mediterranean Sea
Mount Blanc
la Garonne, the Garonne
River
Sra (aka Mme)
Here is a summary of the geographical expressions in French:
1. The definite article is used with names of countries, continents, provinces, mountains, and bodies of water, but NOT with names of cities.
2. Prepositions with place names:
- To express "to" or "in" with place names for feminine countries, use "en." Example: en Suisse (in Switzerland)
- To express "to" or "in" with place names for continents, use "en." Example: en Amérique (in America)
- To express "to" or "in" with place names for provinces, use "en." Example: en Bourgogne (in Burgundy)
- To express "to" with modified countries, use "dans + definite article." Example: dans la belle France (in beautiful France)
- To express "to" with definite continents, use "dans + definite article + continent." Example: dans l'Amérique du Sud (in South America)
- To express "to" with cities, use "à." Example: à Bruxelles (in Brussels)
3. To express "from" with place names:
- For feminine countries, use "de." Example: de Suisse (from Switzerland)
- For continents, use "d'" before the name. Example: d'Amérique (from America)
- For provinces, use "de." Example: de Bourgogne (from Burgundy)
- For countries with masculine names, use "de + definite article." Example: du Mexique (from Mexico)
- For modified countries, use "de + definite article." Example: de la belle France (from beautiful France)
- For continents with definite articles, use "de + definite article + continent." Example: de l'Amérique du Sud (from South America)
- For cities, use "de." Example: de Bruxelles (from Brussels)
4. Note:
- With masculine countries, the definite article is always used.
- A few cities always have an article in French since the article is part of the name. Example: le Havre (au Havre / du Havre), la Nouvelle-Orléans (à la Nouvelle-Orléans / de la Nouvelle-Orléans)
Here are some examples of feminine countries, continents, provinces, masculine countries, mountains, and waterways:
Feminine Countries:
l'Algérie (Algeria), l'Espagne (Spain), l'Allemagne (Germany), la France (France), l'Angleterre (England), la Grande-Bretagne (Great Britain), l'Argentine (Argentina), la Grèce (Greece), l'Autriche (Austria), la Hongrie (Hungary), la Belgique (Belgium), l'Inde (India), la Chine (China), l'Irlande (Ireland), l'Écosse (Scotland), l'Italie (Italy), la Norvège (Norway), la Suède (Sweden), la Pologne (Poland), la Suisse (Switzerland), la Roumanie (Romania), la Tunisie (Tunisia), la Russie (Russia), la Turquie (Turkey), l'Afrique (Africa), l'Alsace (Alsace), l'Amérique (America), l'Amérique du Nord (North America), l'Amérique du Sud (South America), l'Asie (Asia), l'Australie (Australia), l'Europe (Europe), la Provence (Provence)
Masculine Countries:
le Brésil (Brazil), le Maroc (Morocco), le Canada (Canada), le Mexique (Mexico), le Chili (Chile), le Pakistan (Pakistan), le Danemark (Denmark), les Pays-Bas (Netherlands), les États-Unis (United States), le Pérou (Peru), le Portugal (Portugal), le Japon (Japan)
Mountains and Waterways:
les Alpes (the Alps), la Loire (the Loire River), le Jura (the Jura Mountains), le Rhin (the Rhine River), le Rhône (the Rhone River), les Pyrénées (the Pyrenees), la Seine (the Seine River), la Manche (the English Channel), les Vosges (the Vosges Mountains), le mont Blanc (Mount Blanc), la Garonne (the Garonne River)
I hope this information helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.