Islands

In French, some names of islands always have the definite article and some never do.

Island names with definite article

These behave like the names of countries ⇒ Countries and continents, with different constructions depending on gender and number :

Corsica

= la Corse

in Corsica

= en Corse

to Corsica

= en Corse

from Corsica

= de Corse

Note that where the English has the definite article, French normally has as well :

the Balearics

= les Baléares fpl

in the Balearics

= aux Baléares

to the Balearics

= aux Baléares

from the Balearics

= des Baléares

Islands without definite article

As in English, most island names have no definite article ; these work like names of towns ⇒ Towns and cities :

Cyprus

= Chypre

in Cyprus

= à Chypre

to Cyprus

= à Chypre

from Cyprus

= de Chypre

Cyprus sherry

= le sherry de Chypre

English uses on with the names of small islands ; there is no such distinction in French :

on St. Helena

= à Sainte-Hélène

on Naxos

= à Naxos

As with names of cities and towns, it is safest to avoid explicit genders ; use l’île d… instead :

Cuba is beautiful

= l’île de Cuba est belle

Names with or without île in them

English and French tend to work the same way in this respect :

Guernsey

= Guernesey

the island of Guernsey

= l’île de Guernesey

the Balearics

= les Baléares

the Balearic Islands

= les îles Baléares

the Orkney Isles

= les îles Orcades

Exceptions

There are some exceptions to these rules, e.g. Fiji, Samoa, Jamaica. If in doubt, look up island name in the dictionary.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.