Verbs with de

French verbs requiring a preposition

French verbs with prepositions
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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
dĂ©border de(informal) to be bursting with
dĂ©munir (qqun) de to deprive (s.o.) of
dĂ©pendre de to depend on
douter de to doubt
Ă©crire de (la main gauche) to write with (the left hand)
s’emparer de to grab
s’Ă©tonner de to be amazed by
fĂ©liciter de to congratulate
hĂ©riter de to inherit
jouer de to play (an instrument)
jouir de to enjoy
manquer de to lack
se mĂ©fier 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
dĂ©cider de to decide to
dĂ©fendre (Ă  quelqu’un) de to forbid (someone) to do s.t.
se dĂ©lecter 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
fĂ©liciter de to congratulate for ___-ing
finir de to finish ___-ing
se hĂąter de to hurry to
manquer de to neglect, fail to
mĂ©riter 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.

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French verbs with de

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1 Response

  1. hari 26 May 2017 / 11:28

    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 🙂 je vous en remercie beaucoup.