A/Al/A La/En For cities and countries?

Question

I know in French, whether you say "a Paris or en Paris" only "a" is accepted. But is it the same in Spanish? When you want to say, I am in/at a country, or a city, does it matter if you say a or al/a la ?

Answer 1

Hmm, this may just be me but "I am at (country or city name here)" sounds a little funny.

Anyway, I think you should use "en", as that is the best choice when saying you are in a lugar (place).

Estamos en Argentina - We are in Argentina

Vive en La República Dominicana - She lives in the Dominican Republic.

If you were to use "at" in some type of phrase, such as "I am at the store", you would still use "en". Estoy en la tienda.

Great question. I hope I helped!

thanks! so, it doesn't matter what gender the country/city is then? - dondestascorazon, Aug 13, 2011

Answer 2

The preposition "en" is used for locations, e.g. "estoy en..."

The preposition "a" is used for movement, e.g. "voy a..."