Verbs that require 'à' or 'de' before an infinitive
B2Verbs Requiring à or de Before Infinitives
What does this mean?
In French, many verbs can be followed by another verb in the infinitive (the base form: parler, finir, partir…). For some verbs, a small preposition — usually à or de — must appear between the first verb and the infinitive. That preposition is not optional: it is part of how the verb connects to its infinitive complement. Example:
- J'ai décidé de partir. (I decided to leave.)
- Elle m'aide à préparer le dîner. (She helps me prepare dinner.)
Compare with English: English often uses "to + infinitive" (I decide to leave), but the French equivalent can use de, à, or no preposition at all. You must learn which verbs take which pattern.
When do I use à or de before an infinitive?
There is no single rule that covers every verb — the choice of à or de is largely lexical (you learn it verb by verb). Still, some useful patterns help:
- Verbs of beginning, continuing, managing, or succeeding often use à: commencer à, continuer à, arriver à, réussir à, se mettre à. Example: Elle commence à étudier.
- Verbs of deciding, stopping, trying, refusing often use de: décider de, arrêter de, essayer de, refuser de, cesser de. Example: Ils ont décidé de rester.
- Many verbs that address someone (tell/request/order) use an extra structure with both prepositions: verb + à + person + de + infinitive. Example: Il a demandé à Paul de venir.
- Some verbs accept both à and de with little or no difference (commencer, continuer); others accept both but change meaning.
How is the structure formed?
1) verb + à + infinitive (no person between):
- Je commence à lire. (I start reading.)
- Elle hésite à parler. (She hesitates to speak.)
2) verb + de + infinitive (no person between):
- J'ai décidé de partir. (I decided to leave.)
- Il a peur de rater l'examen. (He is afraid of failing the exam.)
3) verb + à + person + de + infinitive (verb addressing a person):
- Elle a demandé à son frère de l'aider. (She asked her brother to help her.)
- Le professeur a conseillé aux étudiants de réviser. (The teacher advised the students to revise.)
Placement of object pronouns and negation
- Object pronouns that are the object of the infinitive go before that infinitive (not before the main verb):
- Je veux le voir. (I want to see him.)
- Je lui ai demandé de le faire. (I asked him to do it.)
- Negation (ne ... pas, ne ... jamais, etc.) usually surrounds the infinitive when it negates the infinitive:
- J'ai décidé de ne pas y aller. (I decided not to go.)
- Elle a essayé de ne pas rire. (She tried not to laugh.)
- If the negation targets the main verb, it surrounds the main verb instead:
- Je ne veux pas partir maintenant. (I do not want to leave now.)
Common verbs followed by à + infinitive
- aider (qqn) à + inf
- Il m'a aidé à porter la table. (He helped me carry the table.)
- apprendre à + inf
- Elle apprend à conduire. (She is learning to drive.)
- arriver à + inf
- Je n'arrive pas à comprendre. (I can't manage to understand.)
- commencer à + inf
- Nous commençons à manger. (We are starting to eat.)
- continuer à + inf
- Il continue à travailler tard. (He continues to work late.)
- se mettre à + inf
- Il s'est mis à pleuvoir. (It started to rain.)
- hésiter à + inf
- N'hésite pas à demander. (Don't hesitate to ask.)
- inviter à + inf
- Je vous invite à venir. (I invite you to come.)
- réussir à + inf
- Elle a réussi à convaincre le jury. (She managed to convince the jury.)
- tenir à + inf
- Je tiens à te dire la vérité. (I insist on telling you the truth / I want to tell you the truth.)
- s'attendre à + inf
- Nous nous attendons à recevoir une réponse. (We expect to receive an answer.)
- s'habituer à + inf
- Je m'habitue à travailler tard. (I'm getting used to working late.)
- avoir du mal à + inf
- J'ai du mal à me concentrer aujourd'hui. (I'm having trouble concentrating today.)
(color note: these verbs are usually followed by à when they introduce an infinitive. Some of them can also be followed by a noun.)
Common verbs followed by de + infinitive
- décider de + inf
- Ils ont décidé de partir. (They decided to leave.)
- arrêter de + inf
- Elle a arrêté de fumer. (She stopped smoking.)
- essayer de + inf
- J'essaie de comprendre. (I'm trying to understand.)
- finir de + inf
- J'ai fini de manger. (I finished eating.)
- refuser de + inf
- Il refuse de répondre. (He refuses to answer.)
- promettre de + inf
- Je promets de revenir. (I promise to come back.)
- oublier de + inf
- Tu as oublié de fermer la porte ? (Did you forget to close the door?)
- rêver de + inf
- Elle rêve de voyager. (She dreams of traveling.)
- éviter de + inf
- Évite de parler si tu n'es pas sûr. (Avoid speaking if you're not sure.)
- proposer de + inf
- Il propose de partir demain. (He suggests leaving tomorrow.)
- permettre (à qqn) de + inf
- La loi permet aux citoyens de voter à 18 ans. (The law allows citizens to vote at 18.)
- interdire (à qqn) de + inf
- Les parents ont interdit aux enfants de sortir. (Parents forbade the children to go out.)
- empêcher (qqn) de + inf
- Le bruit m'empêche de dormir. (The noise prevents me from sleeping.)
- regretter de + inf
- Je regrette de t'avoir blessé. (I regret having hurt you.)
- se souvenir de + inf
- Je me souviens d'avoir lu ce livre. (I remember reading that book.)
- craindre de + inf
- Elle craint de ne pas réussir. (She fears she won't succeed.)
Verbs that take a person + de + infinitive
Many verbs that give an order, advice, or a request use this pattern: verb + à + person + de + infinitive. Important verbs include:
- demander à quelqu'un de (ask someone to)
- Il a demandé à Marie de partir. (He asked Marie to leave.)
- dire à quelqu'un de (tell someone to)
- Je lui ai dit de rester. (I told him to stay.)
- ordonner à quelqu'un de (order someone to)
- Le chef a ordonné aux soldats de se retirer. (The commander ordered the soldiers to withdraw.)
- conseiller à quelqu'un de (advise someone to)
- Elle a conseillé à Paul de consulter un médecin. (She advised Paul to see a doctor.)
- proposer à quelqu'un de (propose to someone to / offer someone to)
- Ils ont proposé à Sophie de les accompagner. (They offered Sophie to come with them.)
Note: If the person is not explicit, some of these verbs can be used alone with de + infinitive: Je propose de partir (I suggest we leave / I propose to leave).
Verbs that can take either à or de (and what changes)
- commencer à / commencer de
- Modern French prefers commencer à, but commencer de appears in formal or literary styles. Sa préférence: commencer à + infinitive.
- Example (preferred): Ils ont commencé à travailler.
- continuer à / continuer de
- Both are common; continuer à is very frequent in speech.
- Example: Il continue à écrire / Il continue de écrire.
- se décider à vs décider de
- Se décider à (with à) is reflexive and often means to bring yourself to do something (gather courage). Décider de (with de) means to make a decision.
- Je me suis décidé à parler. (I forced myself / I finally decided to speak.)
- J'ai décidé de parler. (I decided to speak.)
When the preposition changes the meaning
- penser à vs penser de / penser + infinitive
- Penser à + infinitive: think about / remember to → Pense à téléphoner ! (Remember to phone!)
- Penser + infinitive (without preposition) often means intend → Je pense partir demain. (I plan/intend to leave tomorrow.)
- Penser de (used with nouns/questions) asks for an opinion → Que penses-tu de ce film ? (What do you think of this movie?)
- se décider à vs décider de (see above)
- manquer à vs manquer de
- Manquer à quelqu'un (ce régime me manque) vs manquer de + infinitive (almost do): Il a manqué de tomber. (He almost fell.) — these are different verbs and uses.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Wrong preposition or no preposition
- Wrong: *J'ai décidé partir.*
- Right: J'ai décidé de partir. (You need de after décider.)
- Using à where de is required (or vice versa)
- Wrong: *Il refuse à venir.*
- Right: Il refuse de venir.
- Forgetting to use de after verbs that address a person (when the person is explicit)
- Wrong: *Il a dit à Pierre partir.*
- Right: Il a dit à Pierre de partir.
- Misplacing pronouns
- Wrong: *Je vais dire à lui de partir.*
- Right: Je vais lui dire de partir.
- Negation around the wrong verb
- Wrong: *Je ne veux pas aller pas.* (doubling negation incorrectly)
- Right: Je ne veux pas y aller. / J'ai décidé de ne pas y aller.
Practical tips and memorization strategies
- Learn verbs together with their prepositions. For example, memorize aider + à, décider + de, oublier + de.
- Group verbs by meaning: beginning/continuing (à), deciding/stopping (de), telling/requesting (à + person + de).
- When in doubt, consult a good dictionary or look up example sentences. Native usage often reveals which preposition is correct.
- Pay attention to verbs you hear often in conversation (they are the most useful to learn first).
- When you learn a verb, write one or two simple sentences using it + infinitive so the pattern becomes natural.
Glossary
- Infinitive: the base form of a verb (parler, finir, aller). In English examples you see "to + verb." In French it is just the verb.
- Preposition: a small word that links words (à, de). In this topic the preposition connects the main verb and the infinitive.
- Direct object: the entity directly affected by the verb (Je vois Paul — Paul is the direct object).
- Indirect object: usually introduced by à in French (Je parle à Marie — Marie is the indirect object).
- Subcategorization (lexical requirement): the set of grammatical elements a verb needs (some verbs require de + infinitive, some require à + infinitive).
Conclusion
Some verbs in French require à or de before an infinitive and the choice is part of each verb's grammar. There are helpful patterns (beginning/continuing → often à; deciding/stopping → often de; verbs that tell/request someone → use à + person + de), but many verbs are simply lexical and must be learned together with their preposition. Use the lists and examples above to build your instinct, and when unsure check a reliable source or listen to native usage.