B1 · Prepositions
Verbs with prepositions
«to» is not de, and often it is nothing at all.
At a glance
- Remember
- The preposition belongs to the French verb, not to «to».
- Form
- je commence à comprendreI am beginning to understand
- Signal words
- commencer à
- essayer de
- apprendre à
- oublier de
- Trap
- Wrong:Nous commençons de comprendre le problème.Right:Nous commençons à comprendre le problème.
Your turn
6 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself5 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French.
| I am beginning to understand | je commence à comprendre |
| I am trying to come | j’essaie de venir |
| I want to go | je veux partir |
| he is learning to swim | il apprend à nager |
| she forgot to pay | elle a oublié de payer |
| I am thinking about you | je pense à toi |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
After the modals and after aller comes the bare infinitive.
Je vais chercher le pain.I am going to fetch the bread.
commencer, apprendre and réussir take à.
Il apprend à jouer de la guitare.He is learning to play the guitar.
essayer, décider and oublier take de.
J’ai oublié de fermer la fenêtre.I forgot to close the window.
penser à is «think about», penser de is «think of».
Que penses-tu de sa proposition ?What do you think of his proposal?
Example sentences
Elle a décidé de changer de travail.She has decided to change jobs.
Nous commençons à comprendre le problème.We are beginning to understand the problem.
Arrête de parler, écoute-le.Stop talking, listen to him.
Il a réussi à réserver deux places.He managed to book two seats.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The English «to» tempts you to write something in front of every second infinitive, and de is the usual guess. After the modals and after aller there is nothing there, and after commencer there is à. The only reliable method is to learn the preposition as though it were a syllable of the verb: not commencer but commencer à, not essayer but essayer de.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
When a second infinitive follows a verb, the first verb demands one of three things: à, de, or nothing. It is not a matter of meaning; it is a property of the verb, learnt with it.
English has three patterns too, and they do not line up. «I want *to* go» has «to»; «I can go» has nothing; «I stopped *smoking*» has an -ing form and no preposition at all. Three against three, shared out differently — which is why translating the English word is the wrong move every time.
Nothing at all after the modals and after verbs of movement and perception: je veux partir, je vais voir, j'entends chanter. With à: commencer à, apprendre à, réussir à, aider à, continuer à. With de: essayer de, décider de, oublier de, arrêter de, refuser de.
Note that «stop doing» and «forget to do» — one -ing and one «to» in English — are both de here: arrêter de fumer, oublier de payer. The English form of the second verb tells you nothing about the French preposition.
Before a noun the verbs differ too: penser à is «to think about», penser de is «to think of» in the sense of having an opinion — Qu'est-ce que tu penses de ce film ?
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The verbs on this page, in every form: avoir · changer · décider · commencer · aller · parler · arrêter · chercher