Published April 19, 2020 • Updated July 13, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson, teaching French online since 2014
The French preposition de commonly means “of,” “from” or “about.” It has a wide variety of uses and appears in in expressions of possession, origin, quantity, description and cause. It’s used with many verbs and adjectives, forms partitive articles such as du and de la, and often changes to de or d’ after negation. This lesson explains the most common uses of de with practical examples.
Pronunciation of de
The preposition de is pronounced /də/. In everyday spoken French, the vowel is often reduced or nearly silent.
Je viens de Paris.
I come from Paris.
Before a vowel or silent h, de becomes d’.
Je viens d’Italie.
I come from Italy.
Contractions with de
De contracts with le and les.
- de + le = du
- de + les = des
- de + la = de la
- de + l’ = de l’
Je reviens du marché.
I am coming back from the market.
Nous parlons des étudiants.
We are talking about the students.
Elle sort de la maison.
She is leaving the house.
Il vient de l’école.
He is coming from school.
Possession and relationships
De is commonly used to show possession or a relationship between two nouns.
La voiture de Jacques
Jacques’s car
La maison de Marie
Marie’s house
Le vélo de Jean
Jean’s bike
La fin du film
The end of the movie
Possession can also be expressed with a possessive adjective.
C’est sa maison.
It is his house.
Another construction is être à + person.
La maison est à Marie.
The house belongs to Marie.
Origin: “from”
Use de to indicate where someone or something comes from.
Elle est de Lyon.
She is from Lyon.
Je suis de France.
I am from France.
Je suis du Canada.
I am from Canada.
Je viens des États-Unis.
I come from the United States.
L’avion arrive de Paris.
The plane is arriving from Paris.
Content and containers
The construction noun + de + noun can indicate what a container holds.
Une tasse de café
A cup of coffee
Un bol de soupe
A bowl of soup
Une assiette de fromage
A plate of cheese
Un verre de vin
A glass of wine
This differs from noun + à + noun, which often indicates purpose.
Une tasse de thé
A cup of tea
Une tasse à thé
A teacup
Quantities
De is used after expressions of quantity.
Beaucoup de travail
A lot of work
Un peu de sucre
A little sugar
Un kilo de pommes
A kilogram of apples
Trop de bruit
Too much noise
Assez de temps
Enough time
After a quantity expression, French normally uses de without du, de la, de l’ or des.
Partitive articles: “some”
De combines with definite articles to form partitive articles.
- du
- de la
- de l’
- des
These often mean “some” or have no direct English translation.
Je mange du fromage.
I eat some cheese.
Elle achète de la crème.
She buys some cream.
Nous buvons de l’eau.
We drink water.
Ils mangent des pommes.
They eat some apples.
De after negation
After most negative expressions, du, de la, de l’ and des become de or d’.
Je mange du pain.
I eat bread.
Je ne mange pas de pain.
I do not eat bread.
Elle boit de l’eau.
She drinks water.
Elle ne boit pas d’eau.
She does not drink water.
The main exception is the verb être.
Ce n’est pas du fromage.
That is not cheese.
Description, type and purpose
De can provide more information about a noun, including its type, subject, material or purpose.
Une classe de français
A French class
Une raquette de tennis
A tennis racket
Une voiture de sport
A sports car
Un numéro de téléphone
A telephone number
Une table de cuisine
A kitchen table
Une robe de soie
A silk dress
Un professeur de français
A French teacher
Topic: “about”
Some verbs and expressions use de before the topic being discussed.
Nous parlons de ce problème.
We are talking about this problem.
Que penses-tu de ce film ?
What do you think of this movie?
Elle rêve de voyager.
She dreams of traveling.
Il se souvient de son enfance.
He remembers his childhood.
Cause
De can indicate the cause of a feeling, condition or reaction.
Il tremble de peur.
He is trembling with fear.
Elle pleure de joie.
She is crying with joy.
Je meurs de faim.
I am starving.
Il rougit de honte.
He is blushing with embarrassment.
Time expressions
De appears in several time expressions.
À partir de demain
Starting tomorrow
De six heures à quatorze heures
From six o’clock to two o’clock
De temps en temps
From time to time
De bonne heure
Early
De nos jours
Nowadays
D’abord
First, first of all
The construction de…à… means “from…to….”
Means or body part used
De can indicate the means or body part used to perform an action.
Écrire de la main gauche
To write with the left hand
Pousser du pied
To push with the foot
Montrer du doigt
To point with a finger
👉 French body parts vocabulary »
Expressions with avoir
Many expressions with avoir are followed by de.
Avoir envie de
To feel like, to want
Avoir peur de
To be afraid of
Avoir besoin de
To need
Avoir honte de
To be ashamed of
J’ai besoin de la voiture.
I need the car.
Elle a envie de voyager.
She feels like traveling.
Nous avons peur de nous perdre.
We are afraid of getting lost.
Verbs followed by de
Many French verbs are followed by de + infinitive or de + noun.
Je refuse de partir.
I refuse to leave.
Elle décide de rester.
She decides to stay.
Nous essayons de comprendre.
We are trying to understand.
Common verbs followed by de include:
- accepter de — to agree to
- arrêter de — to stop
- décider de — to decide to
- essayer de — to try to
- finir de — to finish
- oublier de — to forget to
- refuser de — to refuse to
- parler de — to talk about
- se souvenir de — to remember
Demander de can be followed by an infinitive when asking someone to do something.
Je lui demande de venir.
I ask him to come.
Adjectives followed by de
Some adjectives are followed by de.
Je suis fier de toi.
I am proud of you.
Elle est contente de vous voir.
She is happy to see you.
Il est capable de le faire.
He is capable of doing it.
Nous sommes sûrs de notre réponse.
We are sure of our answer.
Expressions with faire
De appears in many expressions with faire, especially activities and sports.
Faire du vélo
To go cycling
Faire du ski
To ski
Faire de la voile
To go sailing
Faire de la moto
To ride a motorcycle
Faire du stop
To hitchhike
Faire des études
To study
Faire du mal
To hurt
The forms du, de la and des are used because these expressions contain the definite article.
Place names and labels
De often appears in the names of places, departments and institutions.
La faculté de droit
The law school
Le bureau de poste
The post office
La chambre de commerce
The chamber of commerce
Le ministère de la Culture
The Ministry of Culture
Compound prepositions with de
De appears in many compound prepositions.
à cause de — because of
au milieu de — in the middle of
auprès de — near, beside
le long de — along
à côté de — next to
en face de — opposite
près de — near
loin de — far from
autour de — around
au-dessus de — above
au-dessous de — below
De vs. à
The prepositions de and à often express opposite ideas.
À can indicate movement toward a place, while de can indicate origin or movement away from it.
Je vais à Paris.
I am going to Paris.
Je reviens de Paris.
I am coming back from Paris.
À can indicate the recipient of an action, while de can indicate possession or topic.
Je parle à Marie.
I am speaking to Marie.
Je parle de Marie.
I am speaking about Marie.
C’est le livre de Marie.
It is Marie’s book.
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