list of French verbs followed by the preposition de

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

Essayer De – To Try

  • J’essaye de faire mon mieux.
    I try to do my best.

Arrêter De – To Stop

J’arrête de fumer.
I stop smoking.

Oublier De – To Forget

  • J’oublie de faire la vaisselle .
    I forget to do the dishes.

Refuser De – To Refuse

  • Je refuse de travailler le week-end.
    I refuse to work on weekends.

Regretter De – To Regret

  • Je regrette de vous informer.
    I regret to inform you.

S’excuser De – To Apologize For

  • Je m’excuse de vous déranger.
    I’m sorry for bothering you.

Faire Semblant De – To Pretend To

  • Je fais semblant de sourire.
    I pretend to smile.

Choisir De – To Choose

  • Je choisis de rester ici.
    I choose to stay here.

Demander De – To Ask

  • Je te demande de me pardonner.
    I’m asking you to forgive me.

Éviter De – To Avoid

  • J’évite de manger trop de bonbons.
    I avoid eating too much candy.

complete verb list

INFINITIVEENGLISH
accepter deto agree to
avoir l'intention deto intend to
avoir peur deto be afraid to
avoir raison deto be right to
avoir tort deto be wrong to
brûler dedying to, really want to
cesser deto stop
choisir deto choose to
conseiller deto advise
convaincre deto convince
craindre deto fear
décider dedecide to
défendre deto forbid
demander deto ask to
entreprendre deto undertake to
envisager deto contemplate
essayer deto try to
éviter deto avoid
faire semblant deto pretend to
feindre deto pretend to, feign
finir deto finish
interdire deto forbid to
mériter deto deserve to
offrir deto offer to
oublier deto forget to
parler deto talk about
permettre deto allow, permit
persuader deto persuade to
projeter deto plan to/on
promettre deto promise to
refuser deto refuse to
regretter deto regret
remercier deto thank
reprocher deto reproach for
résourdre deto resolve to
risquer deto run the risk of
s'abstentir deto refrain from
s'arrêter deto stop
s'empêcher deto refrain from
s'empresser deto rush to, hurry
s'enfforcer deto try hard to
s'étonner deto marvel at
s'excuser deto apologize for
se charger deoto make sure to, see to it
se contenter debe satisfied with
se dépêcher deto hurry to
se flatter depride yourself on, be proud of
se plaindre deto complain about
se proposer deoffer to do something
se rappeler deto recall to
se souvenir deto remember to
soupconner deto suspect of
tâcher deto try to

example sentences

  • 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. 
  • El refuse de partir. Herefuses 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.
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