In French, the names of continents almost always require a definite article. Because all seven continents begin with a vowel, they all take the elided article l'.
Europe and Africa
Almost all continents in French end in -e and are feminine. This includes l'Europe and l'Afrique.
| I have visited neither Europe nor Africa. | Je n'ai visité ni l'Europe ni l'Afrique. |
The Americas
America is divided into l'Amérique du Nord (North America) and l'Amérique du Sud (South America). Because Amérique is feminine, adjectives and participles describing these continents take feminine endings.
| North and South America are very large. | L'Amérique du Nord et l'Amérique du Sud sont très grandes. |
The masculine exception
There is one notable exception to the gender rule: l'Antarctique (Antarctica) ends in -e but is masculine. Compare its masculine agreement to the feminine agreement of l'Asie (Asia).
| Antarctica was visited by the researcher. | L'Antarctique a été visité par le chercheur. |
| Asia was explored by the traveler. | L'Asie a été explorée par le voyageur. |
Oceania
Our final feminine continent is l'Océanie (Oceania).
| Do you prefer Oceania or Asia? | Tu préfères l'Océanie ou l'Asie ? |
| He knows neither Oceania nor Antarctica. | Il ne connaît ni l'Océanie ni l'Antarctique. |
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