B1 · What follows a verb
The infinitive with de
Largely the group English marks with -ing.
The de group is the biggest, and it has a core of its own: the verbs where something ends, is decided or is left undone — the counterpart of the à verbs of starting.
There is also a shortcut worth having. Most of this group is exactly where English uses -ing rather than to: stop smoking, avoid saying, finish reading, risk losing, forget locking, keep from doing. Where English reaches for -ing after the first verb, French reaches for de — not a rule to trust blindly, but the best single guide English offers on this page.
Stopping and avoiding: arrêter de, cesser de, finir de, éviter de, refuser de, oublier de, risquer de. Deciding and trying: décider de, choisir de, essayer de, tenter de, accepter de, promettre de, proposer de.
And the verbs of saying that pass on a request: dire de, demander de, conseiller de, permettre de, interdire de. With these the person stands as a pronoun before the verb — il me dit de partir — unlike aider. After an impersonal it is, de stands as well: il est difficile de tout expliquer.
Die Form
| to stop | il a arrêté de fumer |
| to decide | nous avons décidé de rester |
| to try | elle essaie de comprendre |
| to forget | j’ai oublié de fermer |
| a request passed on | il me demande de venir |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
The verbs of stopping take de.
Il a arrêté de fumer l’an dernier.He stopped smoking last year.
Those of deciding and trying do too.
Nous avons décidé de rester.We decided to stay.
With the verbs of saying the person is a pronoun before the verb, not after the de.
Elle nous a conseillé de partir tôt.She advised us to leave early.
After an impersonal it is, de stands as well.
Il est difficile de tout expliquer.It is hard to explain everything.
Woran man es erkennt
- arrêter de
- décider de
- essayer de
- oublier de
- refuser de
- éviter de
- promettre de
- demander de
Beispielsätze
Elle essaie de comprendre la consigne.She is trying to understand the instruction.
J’ai oublié de fermer la fenêtre.I forgot to close the window.
Ils ont refusé de signer le contrat.They refused to sign the contract.
Il est difficile de tout expliquer en deux minutes.It is hard to explain it all in two minutes.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Four verbs change meaning with the preposition, and that is the real reason for learning these lists. Décider de faire is to decide; se décider à faire is to bring yourself to do it. Venir de faire is to have just done it; venir faire is to come in order to do it. Manquer de tomber is to nearly fall; manquer à quelqu'un is to be missed by them.
Whatever stops or is decided takes de — often where English has -ing.
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