French verbs requiring a preposition
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A number of French verbs require the preposition de in front of a noun or infinitive.
Verb + de + noun
s’agir de | to be a question of | ||
s’apercevoir de | to notice | ||
approcher de | to approach | ||
arriver de (Paris, Canada) | to arrive from (Paris, Canada) | ||
avoir besoin de | to need | ||
avoir envie de | to want | ||
avoir l’habitude de | to be used to, in the habit of | ||
avoir peur de | to be afraid of | ||
changer de (train) | to change (trains) | ||
convaincre de | to convince of | ||
couvrir de | to cover with | ||
déborder de | (informal) | to be bursting with | |
démunir (qqun) de | to deprive (s.o.) of | ||
dépendre de | to depend on | ||
douter de | to doubt | ||
écrire de (la main gauche) | to write with (the left hand) | ||
s’emparer de | to grab | ||
s’Ă©tonner de | to be amazed by | ||
féliciter de | to congratulate | ||
hériter de | to inherit | ||
jouer de | to play (an instrument) | ||
jouir de | to enjoy | ||
manquer de | to lack | ||
se méfier de | to distrust, beware of | ||
se moquer de | to make fun of | ||
s’occuper de | to be busy with | ||
partir de | to leave | ||
se passer de | to do without | ||
penser de | to have an opinion about | ||
se plaindre de | to complain about | ||
profiter de | to make the most of | ||
punir de | to punish for | ||
raffoler de | to love, be crazy about | ||
recompenser de | to reward for | ||
remercier de | to thank for | ||
se rendre compte de | to realize | ||
rĂȘver de | to dream of, desire | ||
rire de | to laugh at | ||
servir de | to put to use as | ||
se servir de | to use | ||
se soucier de | to care about | ||
se souvenir de | to remember | ||
tenir de | to take after, resemble | ||
se tromper de | to mistake | ||
vivre de | to live on |
Replacing de + noun
De plus a noun can be replaced by the adverbial pronoun en. | |||
Je joue de la guitare. > J’en joue. | I play the guitar. > I play it. | ||
Il m’a fĂ©licitĂ© de ma dĂ©couverte. > Il m’en a fĂ©licitĂ©. | He congratulated me for my discovery. > He congratulated me for it. |
Verb + de + infinitive
Note that this construction may be equivalent to an English infinitive (e.g., to do) or a gerund (doing).
accepter de | to accept, agree to | |
accuser (quelqu’un) de | to accuse (someone) of | |
achever de | to finish ___-ing | |
s’agir de | to be a question of ___-ing | |
(s’)arrĂȘter de | to stop ___-ing | |
attendre de | to wait to | |
avertir (qqun) de (ne pas) | to warn (someone) (not) to | |
avoir peur de | to be afraid of ___-ing | |
blĂąmer (qqun) de | to blame (someone) for ___-ing | |
cesser de | to stop, cease ___-ing | |
choisir de | to choose to | |
commander (Ă qqun) de | to order (someone) to | |
commencer de* | to start to / ___-ing | |
conseiller de | to advise to | |
se contenter de | to be happy ___-ing | |
continuer de* | to continue to / ___-ing | |
convenir de | to agree to | |
craindre de | to fear ___-ing | |
décider de | to decide to | |
dĂ©fendre (Ă quelqu’un) de | to forbid (someone) to do s.t. | |
se délecter de | to delight in ___-ing | |
demander (Ă quelqu’un) de | to ask (someone) to do something | |
se dĂ©pĂȘcher de | to hurry to | |
dĂ©ranger quelqu’un de | to bother someone to | |
dire (Ă quelqu’un) de | to tell (someone) to do something | |
s’efforcer de | to endeavor, try one’s best to | |
empĂȘcher de | to prevent, keep from ___-ing | |
s’empresser de | to hurry to | |
ennuyer quelqu’un de | to bother/upset someone to | |
essayer de | to try to | |
ĂȘtre (adjective / past participle) de | to be (adj / ___ed) to | |
s’excuser de | to apologize for ___-ing | |
féliciter de | to congratulate for ___-ing | |
finir de | to finish ___-ing | |
se hĂąter de | to hurry to | |
manquer de | to neglect, fail to | |
mériter de | to deserve to | |
offrir de | to offer to | |
oublier de | to forget to | |
(se) permettre de | to allow (oneself) to | |
persuader de | to persuade to | |
prendre garde de | to be careful not to | |
prendre le parti de | to decide to | |
se presser de | to hurry to | |
prier de | to beg to | |
promettre de | to promise to | |
proposer de | to suggest ___-ing | |
refuser de | to refuse to | |
regretter de | to regret ___-ing | |
remercier de | to thank for ___-ing | |
rĂȘver de | to dream of ___-ing | |
risquer de | to risk ___-ing | |
se soucier de | to care about ___-ing | |
se souvenir de | to remember ___-ing | |
supplier de | to be / beseech | |
tĂącher de | to try to | |
venir de (faire quelque chose) | to have just (done something) |
* Can also be followed by Ă with exactly the same meaning.
Related lessons
- Preposition de
- De vs du, de la, des
- Adverbial pronoun en
- Relative pronoun dont
- Recent past : venir de
- Indirect object pronouns
- Verbs with Ă and / or de
- Verbs with other prepositions
En español
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Bonjour! Je me suis toujours servi de vos lecons depuis que j’ai commencĂ© Ă apprendre le francais. Maintenant Ă©tant Ă©tudiant de C1, prĂ©parant pour DALF C1, je trouve encore votre site beaucoup plus intĂ©ressant et toujours le meilleur. Merci beaucoup de tous vos efforts đ je vous en remercie beaucoup.