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### Asking "From Where" with "d'où"

Combine **où** (where) and the preposition **de** (from) to ask "from where." Since **où** starts with a vowel, **de** becomes **d'**.

Pair **d'où** with the verb **venir** (to come) to ask about origins. It is typically placed at the beginning of the sentence:

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In conversational French, **d'où** can also go at the end of the question:

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### Countries and Nationalities

To answer, use **venir de** plus a location. Feminine countries drop their article (*la* or *l'*) after *venir de*, and **de** becomes **d'** before a vowel:

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You can also use adjectives or the noun **la nationalité** to describe origins. Unlike in English, nationality adjectives are not capitalized in French:

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### Borders, Origins, and the World

Here is more vocabulary for discussing international travel and origins:

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Question word for origin (d'où)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Knowing facts vs. familiarity (savoir, connaître)

Question	Answer
from where	d'où
exactly	exactement
Where do you come from exactly?	D'où est-ce que vous venez exactement ?
Where does your family come from?	D'où vient votre famille ?
Italian	italien
Where does this Italian boy come from?	D'où vient ce garçon italien ?
Where do these students come from?	Ces étudiants viennent d'où ?
Germany	l'Allemagne
German	allemand
He comes from Germany, he is German.	Il vient d'Allemagne, il est allemand.
the nationality	la nationalité
She has German nationality.	Elle a la nationalité allemande.
What is your nationality?	Quelle est votre nationalité ?
Italy	l'Italie
He comes from Italy, is that true?	Il vient d'Italie, c'est vrai ?
Do you like Italian coffee?	Vous aimez le café italien ?
the border	la frontière
The train arrives at the border of Italy.	Le train arrive à la frontière de l'Italie.
We live near the border, in Germany.	Nous habitons près de la frontière, en Allemagne.
It is exactly at the border.	C'est exactement à la frontière.
the origin (f)	l'origine
What is the origin of this problem?	Quelle est l'origine de ce problème ?
It is a dog of German origin.	C'est un chien d'origine allemande.
the world	le monde
Where in the world do you live?	Vous habitez où dans le monde ?
There are a lot of countries in the world.	Il y a beaucoup de pays dans le monde.

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