Les pays · articles et accords
1 · Le: masculine singular
Learn the whole name, including the article.
| le Canada | Canada |
| le Japon | Japan |
| le Portugal | Portugal |
Le Portugal est notre prochaine destination.Portugal is our next destination.
2 · La: feminine singular
Many country names ending in -e are feminine.
| la France | France |
| la Belgique | Belgium |
| la Chine | China |
La Belgique figure sur notre liste.Belgium is on our list.
3 · L’: gender stays hidden
The apostrophe tells you about the opening sound. Keep the gender separately.
| l’Italie — féminin | Italy — feminine |
| l’Espagne — féminin | Spain — feminine |
| l’Iran — masculin | Iran — masculine |
4 · Les: a plural name
The country is one place, but the French name takes plural agreement.
| les Pays-Bas | the Netherlands |
| les États-Unis | the United States |
| les Philippines | the Philippines |
Les Pays-Bas sont sur notre liste.The Netherlands is on our list.
5 · Some masculine names end in -e
These are useful exceptions to the final-e clue.
| le Mexique | Mexico |
| le Cambodge | Cambodia |
| le Mozambique | Mozambique |
Le Mexique est notre premier choix.Mexico is our first choice.
6 · Some names stand alone
Use these ordinary country names without a definite article.
| Cuba | Cuba |
| Israël | Israel |
Cuba figure sur cette carte.Cuba appears on this map.
Israël figure aussi sur cette carte.Israel also appears on this map.