How to master and use French verbs followed by “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

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.