au

Question

is there a reason texas and new mexico use "au" instead of dans le other than the fact that it is an exception? and if so, are there other ones that use "au"?

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Nim !

Unfortunately, I don't have a definitive explanation for you.
My guess would be that Texas was almost like a separate country as some point in its history, and that New Mexico contains the name of a country, so they follow the masculine countries rule of agreement with "au".

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Answer

Texas was a country between 1836 (independence from Mexico) and 1845 (entered United States).
France was one of the few nations to grant semi-official recognition of Texas on September 25, 1839. In 1841 The French opened a legation which still stands in Austin, (a few miles from the site of the current Texas Capitol building), and Texas in turn opened an embassy in Paris. France had wanted to set up a consulate general in Washington-on-the-Brazos and a consulate in Houston as well.

Answer

Bonjour Nim,
Texas and New Mexico are both masculine nouns as is Canada, hence je vais au Canada, je vais au Texas and je vais au Nouveau Mexique.

J'espère que cela vous aidera.

Answer

Bonjour Lanny !

Merci beaucoup pour ces explications très intéressantes !

Bonne journée !