In this lesson we will talk about countries, nationalities and languages in French. You will learn to say what your nationality is, the names and genders of countries and continents in French, and what languages are spoken in the countries you will learn. I will teach you how to say that you are going to or from a country, continent or city based on the number and gender of the geographical location. To access this free resource, you must be logged in to your LLL French Academy account. It’s free to sign up!
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PAYS ET NATIONALITES: RESOURCES FOR FRENCH TEACHERS OR CONVERSATION GROUPS:
Countries, continents, languages and nationalities
Les Nationalités
De quelle nationalité êtes-vous? What’s your nationality?
In this lesson we will talk about countries, nationalities and languages in French. You will learn to say what your nationality is, the names and genders of countries and continents in French, and what languages are spoken in the countries you will learn. Finally, I will teach you how to say that you are going to or from a country, continent or city based on the number and gender of the geographical location.
To tell someone what your nationality is, you only need a couple of key ingredients:
| SUBJECT | VERB | NATIONALITY |
ÊTRE
The verb you need to learn to state your nationality in French is être. Click here for downloadable être conjugation charts in 9 tenses with pronunciation.
| Je suis I am | Nous sommes We are |
| Tu es You are | Vous êtes You are |
| Il – Elle – On est He is – She is – One is (We are) | Ils – Elles sont They are |
Common countries, continents, languages and nationalities
Nationalities are adjectives. Adjectives always have to agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
F = Feminine
M = Masculine
Most countries that end in the letter E are feminine in French. There are some exceptions.
All languages are masculine.
| Country (French) | Country (English) | Official language(s) | Nationality (m & f) |
| l’Afrique du Sud (f) | South Africa | l’afrikaans, l’anglais + 11 autres langues | Sud-Africain(e) |
| l’Algérie (f) | Algeria | l’arabe | Algérien(ne) |
| La Belgique (f) | Belgium | le néerlandais, le français, l’allemand | Belge |
| Le Brésil (m) | Brazil | le portugais | Brésilien(ne) |
| Le Canada (m) | Canada | l’anglais, le français | Canadien(ne) |
| La Chine (f) | China | le chinois | Chinois(e) |
| l’Égypte (f) | Egypt | l’arabe | Égyptien(ne) |
| l’Angleterre (f) | England | l’anglais | Anglais(e) |
| La France (f) | France | le français | Français(e) |
| l’Allemagne (f) | Germany | l’allemand | Allemand(e) |
| l’Inde (f) | India | le hindi, l’anglais + 20 autres langues | Indien(ne) |
| l’Irlande (f) | Ireland | l’irlandais, l’anglais | Irlandais(e) |
| l’Italie (f) | Italy | l’italien | Italien(ne) |
| Le Japon (m) | Japan | le japonais | Japonais(e) |
| Le Mexique (m) *exception, ends in E but is masculine | Mexico | l’espagnol | Mexicain(e) |
| Le Maroc (m) | Morocco | l’arabe, le berbère | Marocain(e) |
| Les Pays-Bas (m) | The Netherlands | le néerlandais | Néerlandais(e) |
| La Pologne (f) | Poland | le polonais | Polonais(e) |
| Le Portugal (m) | Portugal | le portugais | Portugais(e) |
| La Russie (f) | Russia | le russe | Russe |
| Le Sénégal (m) | Senegal | le français | Sénégalais(e) |
| l’Espagne (f) | Spain | l’espagnol | Espagnol(e) |
| La Suisse (f) | Switzerland | le français, l’italien, l’allemand, le romanche | Suisse |
| Les États-Unis (m) | The United States | l’anglais, l’espagnol *There is no official language in the USA | Américain(e) |
| La Tunisie (f) | Tunisia | l’arabe | Tunisien(ne) |
| La Suède (f) | Sweden | le suédois | Suédois(e) |
Continents
All continents are feminine
| l’Europe (f) | Europe |
| l’Amérique (f) l’Amérique du Nord (f) l’Amérique du Sud (f) | America |
| l’Asie (f) | Asia |
| l’Afrique (f) | Africa |
| l’Océanie (f) | Oceania |
Capitalization of nationalities and languages
➤ Capitalize nationalities when they are used as NOUNS:
Les Français aiment le fromage.
➤ Don’t capitalize nationalities when they are used as adjectives:
C’est un passeport suisse.
Il est cubain.
➤ Languages are not capitalized in French.
Prepositions before geographical locations
Going to:
To say you are going to or are in a geographical place:
| AU | In / to a masculine, singular country | AU Japon |
| À | In / to a city*some exceptions apply | À Paris À La Nouvelle Orléans |
| EN | In / to any feminine, singular country and all continents | EN France EN Europe |
| AUX | In / to any plural country | AUX États-Unis |
Prepositions before geographical locations
Coming from:
To say you are coming from or are from a geographical place:
| DU | From a masculine, singular country | DU Maroc |
| DE / D’ | From a city *some exceptions apply | DE Londres DU Caire |
| DE / D’ | From a feminine, singular country and all continents | D’Espagne D’Australie |
| DES | From any plural country | DES Pays-Bas |
Quizlet: Practice the Nationalities
Quizlet: Practice Countries and Continents
Quizlet: Countries and their Nationalities
