One of the more difficult aspects to learning French is trying to remember which verbs are followed by the preposition à and which ones are followed by the preposition de. Rather than trying to memorize all of the verbs followed by de, here’s a list of the top-10 most commonly used verbs with sample phrases.
Top-10 verbs followed by de
1) Essayer De – To Try
- J’essaye de faire mon mieux. I try to do my best.
2) Arrêter De – To Stop
- J’arrête de fumer. I stop smoking.
3) Oublier De – To Forget
- J’oublie de faire la vaisselle. I forget to do the dishes.
4) Refuser De – To Refuse
- Je refuse de travailler le week-end. I refuse to work on weekends.
5) Regretter De – To Regret
- Je regrette de vous informer. I regret to inform you.
6) S’excuser De – To Apologize For
- Je m’excuse de vous déranger. I’m sorry for bothering you.
7) Faire Semblant De – To Pretend To
- Je fais semblant de sourire. I pretend to smile.
8) Choisir De – To Choose
- Je choisis de rester ici. I choose to stay here.
9) Demander De – To Ask
- Je te demande de me pardonner. I’m asking you to forgive me.
10) Éviter De – To Avoid
- J’évite de manger trop de bonbons. I avoid eating too much candy.
Verb list: French verbs followed by de
- accepter de to agree to
- avoir l’intention de to intend to
- avoir peur de to be afraid to
- avoir raison de to be right to
- avoir tort de to be wrong to
- brûler de dying to, really want to
- cesser de to stop
- choisir de to choose to
- conseiller de to advise
- convaincre de to convince
- craindre de to fear
- décider de decide to
- défendre de to forbid
- demander de to ask to
- entreprendre de to undertake to
- envisager de to contemplate
- essayer de to try to
- éviter de to avoid
- faire semblant de to pretend to
- feindre de to pretend to, feign
- finir de to finish
- interdire de to forbid to
- mériter de to deserve to
- offrir de to offer to
- oublier de to forget to
- parler de to talk about
- permettre de to allow, permit
- persuader de to persuade to
- projeter de to plan to/on
- promettre de to promise to
- refuser de to refuse to
- regretter de to regret
- remercier de to thank
- reprocher de to reproach for
- résourdre de to resolve to
- risquer de to run the risk of
- s’abstentir de to refrain from
- s’arrêter de to stop
- s’empêcher de to refrain from
- s’empresser de to rush to, hurry
- s’enfforcer de to try hard to
- s’étonner de to marvel at
- s’excuser de to apologize for
- se charger de to make sure to, see to it
- se contenter de be satisfied with
- se dépêcher de to hurry to
- se flatter de pride yourself on, be proud of
- se plaindre de to complain about
- se proposer de offer to do something
- se rappeler de to recall to
- se souvenir de to remember to
- soupconner de to suspect of
- tâcher de to try to
Example sentences
The following is a list of example sentences using verbs followed by the preposition “de”.
- J’évite de faire la meme bêtise deux foix. I avoid making the same mistake two times.
- Elle n’arrête pas de parler. She doesn’t stop talking.
- Il cesse de pleuvoir. It stops raining.
- Je me souviens de payer mon loyer. I remember to pay my rent.
- Il refuse de partir. He refuses to leave.
- J’ai besoin de boire du café. I need to drink coffee.
- Je décide de faire du ski. I decide to go skiing.
- J’essaye d’être plus sympa avec les gens. I try to be nicer to people.
- J’évite de conduire trop vite. I avoid driving too fast.
- Je choisis de atteindre mes objectifs. I choose to reach my goals.
Related lessons:
- French verbs followed by the preposition à
- French preposition à overview
- French preposition de overview
French grammar | Lessons by David Issoskon
