French grammar · Beginner
De as a Preposition in French: Of, From, About
As a preposition, de means of, from, or about. It marks possession (le livre de Marie), origin (je viens de Lyon), and the complement of hundreds of verbs and adjectives (parler de, content de). It contracts with le and les into du and des.
C'est le vélo de mon frère.
That's my brother's bike.
What it is
De is the most frequent word in written French, and most of its work is as a preposition linking two nouns or introducing a verb's complement. Where English has an apostrophe-s, a from, or an about, French usually has de.
la porte de la maison (the house door), je viens de Paris (I'm from Paris), on parle de toi (we're talking about you).
How to spot it
De almost never stands alone. Look at what it connects: two nouns means possession or type, a verb before it means the verb requires it.
- la voiture de Paul — Paul's car (possession)
- Il vient de Lille. — He's from Lille. (origin)
- Elle rêve de partir. — She dreams of leaving. (verb complement)
- Je suis content de te voir. — I'm happy to see you. (adjective complement)
De + le becomes du and de + les becomes des, always. De + la and de + l' stay as they are.
De (Preposition) Quick Reference
The jobs de does
| Use | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 's, of | le sac de Marie — Marie's bag |
| Origin | from | Je viens du Canada. — I'm from Canada. |
| Material | made of | une bague d'or — a gold ring |
| Content or type | of | une tasse de thé — a cup of tea |
| Subject matter | about | un film de guerre — a war film |
| Verb complement | — | J'ai besoin de toi. — I need you. |
| Cause | with, from | mourir de faim — to die of hunger |
| Distance or span | from... to | de Paris à Lyon — from Paris to Lyon |
Common De (Preposition) Examples in French
De across its main uses:
Possession and Belonging
- les clés de la voiture
- the car keys
- la sœur de mon ami
- my friend's sister
- le toit de l'immeuble
- the roof of the building
- l'ordinateur du bureau
- the office computer
The owner comes second in French, the reverse of English. There is no apostrophe-s in the language at all.
Origin and Starting Point
- Je viens de Marseille.
- I'm from Marseille.
- Il sort de la maison.
- He's coming out of the house.
- un train de Bruxelles
- a train from Brussels
- de 9 h à 17 h
- from 9am to 5pm
De marks the point you leave; à marks the point you reach. They very often appear as a pair.
Verbs That Require De
- J'ai besoin de repos.
- I need rest.
- Elle a décidé de rester.
- She decided to stay.
- On a peur du noir.
- We're afraid of the dark.
- Il s'occupe des enfants.
- He looks after the children.
These pairings are fixed. Which verbs take de and which take à is not derivable from meaning.
How De Behaves
Four habits cover almost every appearance of de in a sentence.
It Always Contracts With Le and Les
De + le becomes du, de + les becomes des. This isn't optional or stylistic; the uncontracted forms are simply ungrammatical.
la clé du bureau, la couleur des murs
the office key, the colour of the walls
de + le = du, de + les = des.
It Elides Before a Vowel
Before a vowel or a mute h, de drops its e and takes an apostrophe. This applies everywhere de appears, including in fixed expressions.
beaucoup d'eau, près d'ici, pas d'histoires
lots of water, near here, no fuss
de + vowel = d'.
Two Nouns Joined by De Need No Article
When de links two nouns to describe a type rather than a specific thing, the second noun usually stands bare: un jus de fruit, une salle de bains, un professeur de français.
un cours de mathématiques
a maths class
Type → bare noun after de.
It Introduces the Infinitive for a Large Verb Group
Many verbs need de before a following infinitive: essayer de, oublier de, refuser de, éviter de. The parallel group takes à instead, and there's no rule connecting meaning to choice.
J'ai oublié de fermer la porte.
I forgot to close the door.
verb + de + infinitive.
Common Mistakes with De (Preposition)
Incorrect: le livre de le garçon — the boy's book
Correct: le livre du garçon — the boy's book
De and le must contract into du. There is no context in which de le is correct as a sequence.
Incorrect: Marie's livre — Marie's book
Correct: le livre de Marie — Marie's book
French has no possessive apostrophe. Possession is always built with de, and the owner goes after the thing owned.
Incorrect: J'ai besoin à toi. — I need you.
Correct: J'ai besoin de toi. — I need you.
Avoir besoin is fixed with de. Swapping in à is the single most common preposition error with this expression.
Incorrect: Je suis content de le voir toi. — I'm happy to see you.
Correct: Je suis content de te voir. — I'm happy to see you.
After de plus an infinitive, the object pronoun goes in front of the infinitive, not after it.
Verbs and Adjectives Built on De
These groups account for most of the de you'll meet that isn't possession or origin.
Verbs taking de before an infinitive
A large closed set. Worth learning as whole phrases rather than as verb plus rule.
- essayer de comprendre
- to try to understand
- refuser de partir
- to refuse to leave
- éviter de parler
- to avoid speaking
- accepter de venir
- to agree to come
Compare the à group: apprendre à, réussir à, hésiter à, continuer à.
Adjectives taking de
Adjectives describing a feeling or a reaction usually take de before what caused it.
- content de te voir
- happy to see you
- fier de son travail
- proud of his work
- fatigué d'attendre
- tired of waiting
- capable de tout
- capable of anything
The main exception is prêt à, ready to, which takes à.
Fixed expressions with de
Several very common phrases are built on de and don't decompose.
- de temps en temps
- from time to time
- de plus en plus
- more and more
- d'accord
- agreed, OK
- de rien
- you're welcome
De rien is the standard reply to merci across the francophone world.
De (Preposition) FAQs
- What does the French preposition de mean?
- Most often of, from, or about. It expresses possession (le livre de Marie), origin (je viens de Lyon), material (une bague d'or), and subject matter (parler de politique). It's also the required complement of hundreds of verbs and adjectives.
- How do you show possession in French?
- With de, and with the owner second: le livre de Marie means Marie's book. French has no apostrophe-s construction at all, so every possessive phrase reverses the English word order.
- When does de become du or des?
- Whenever it meets the articles le or les. De + le contracts to du and de + les contracts to des. De + la and de + l' don't contract, so you get de la maison and de l'école unchanged.
- What's the difference between de and à?
- Broadly, de marks a source, an origin, or a belonging, and à marks a destination or a recipient: je viens de Paris, je vais à Paris. With containers, de gives the contents (une tasse de thé) and à gives the purpose (une tasse à thé).
- Why do some verbs take de before an infinitive?
- It's a fixed property of each verb rather than a rule you can derive. Essayer, oublier, décider, and refuser take de; commencer, apprendre, and réussir take à; and vouloir, pouvoir, and devoir take nothing at all. Learning them inside real phrases is far more reliable than learning lists.