What's the difference between penser à and penser de?

Penser à means to have something or someone in mind: je pense à mes vacances. Penser de asks for a judgement: que penses-tu de mes vacances ? The second is used almost exclusively in questions.

How do you say I'm thinking about you in French?

Je pense à toi. With a person, the preposition à stays and takes a stressed pronoun, so it is à toi, à lui, à elle, à eux, never je te pense.

Why does je ne pense pas que take the subjunctive?

Because negating the verb removes the speaker's assertion that the clause is true, and French marks unasserted content with the subjunctive: je ne pense pas qu'il vienne. The affirmative je pense qu'il vient keeps the indicative.

What does qu'en penses-tu mean?

What do you think of it. En replaces de plus the thing being judged, so the phrase is the pronoun version of que penses-tu de cela. It is one of the most common ways to invite an opinion.

Is there a difference between penser faire and penser à faire?

Yes, and it is large. Je pense partir means I plan to leave; je pense à partir means leaving is on my mind, and pense à partir as a command means remember to leave. The à turns intention into a reminder.

French grammar · Intermediate

Penser in French: Penser À, Penser De, and Penser Que

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Penser means to think, and the preposition after it decides which kind of thinking you mean. Penser à is having something on your mind; penser de is holding an opinion about it, and it appears almost only in questions. Penser que introduces what you believe, and it flips to the subjunctive as soon as you make it negative.

Je pense à toi. Et toi, qu'est-ce que tu en penses ?

I'm thinking of you. And you, what do you think of it?

What it is

English think about does two different jobs at once. It can mean your mind is occupied by something, and it can mean you have formed a judgement about it. French separates the two: à for the first, de for the second. The verb itself is a plain regular -er verb and gives no trouble.

Je pense à ce film depuis hier. Qu'est-ce que tu penses de ce film ? — I've been thinking about that film since yesterday. What do you think of that film?

How to spot it

Ask whether you could replace think about with have in mind or with have an opinion on. The first is à, the second is de.

Je pense à mes examens. — I'm thinking about my exams. (they're on my mind)
Que penses-tu de mes examens ? — What do you think of my exams? (your opinion)
Je pense que tu as raison. — I think you're right.
Je pense rentrer tôt. — I'm thinking of going home early.

Penser de is almost never used in a statement. In practice it appears in questions and in the fixed phrase qu'en penses-tu.

Penser Quick Reference

Each structure and the pronoun that replaces its complement

Structure	Meaning	Pronoun form
penser à + thing	to have in mind	j'y pense
penser à + person	to think of someone	je pense à elle
penser de + thing	to have an opinion of	qu'en penses-tu ?
penser que + clause	to believe that	je le pense
ne pas penser que	to doubt that	clause goes subjunctive
penser + infinitive	to intend to	je pense partir
penser à + infinitive	to remember to	pense à fermer
faire penser à	to remind of	ça me fait penser à toi

Common Penser Examples in French

Penser doing each of its jobs:

Having Something on Your Mind

Je pense à toi tous les jours.: I think about you every day.
Elle pense à son avenir.: She's thinking about her future.
À quoi penses-tu ?: What are you thinking about?
Je n'y pense plus.: I don't think about it any more.

For a thing, the pronoun is y. For a person, French keeps à and uses the stressed pronoun: je pense à lui.

Asking for an Opinion

Que pensez-vous de cette idée ?: What do you think of this idea?
Qu'est-ce que tu penses de son frère ?: What do you think of his brother?
Qu'en penses-tu ?: What do you think of it?
Elle pense du bien de toi.: She thinks well of you.

Penser du bien and penser du mal are the only common statements with de. Everything else is a question.

Stating a Belief

Je pense qu'il va pleuvoir.: I think it's going to rain.
Nous pensons que c'est une erreur.: We think it's a mistake.
Je ne pense pas qu'il vienne.: I don't think he'll come.
Pensez-vous qu'elle soit prête ?: Do you think she's ready?

Affirmative penser que takes the indicative. Negative and interrogative versions usually take the subjunctive, because the belief is being questioned.

Intending and Remembering

Je pense partir vers midi.: I'm planning to leave around noon.
Ils pensent acheter un appartement.: They're thinking of buying a flat.
Pense à prendre ton passeport.: Remember to take your passport.
J'ai pensé à réserver.: I remembered to book.

The presence of à changes the meaning completely: penser faire is to intend, penser à faire is to remember.

How Penser Works

One regular conjugation, two prepositions that do not overlap, and a mood change triggered by negation.

À Puts Something in Your Mind

Penser à describes what occupies your attention. It works with people, things, plans, and worries, and it does not imply any judgement about them.

Je pense à ce que tu m'as dit.

I'm thinking about what you said to me.

à = it's on my mind.

De Asks for a Verdict

Penser de asks what evaluation you have reached. Because a statement of opinion is normally phrased with que, this structure survives mainly in questions and in the pronoun form en.

Que penses-tu de sa proposition ?

What do you think of his proposal?

de = your opinion of it.

The Pronouns Differ by Preposition

À plus a thing becomes y, and de plus a thing becomes en. À plus a person keeps the preposition and adds a stressed pronoun: à moi, à toi, à lui, à elle, à eux.

J'y pense souvent, mais je ne sais pas quoi en penser.

I often think about it, but I don't know what to make of it.

y for à, en for de, stressed forms for people.

Negation Pulls in the Subjunctive

Je pense que states something you hold to be true, so the clause is indicative. Je ne pense pas que withdraws that confidence, and the clause moves into the subjunctive.

Je ne pense pas que ce soit une bonne idée.

I don't think that's a good idea.

Affirmative → indicative, negative → subjunctive.

A Bare Infinitive Means Intention

Penser followed directly by an infinitive means to plan or expect to do something. It is softer than compter and much softer than avoir l'intention de.

Nous pensons rester une semaine.

We're planning to stay a week.

penser + infinitive = intend.

Common Mistakes with Penser

Incorrect: Qu'est-ce que tu penses à ce film ? — What do you think of this film?

Correct: Qu'est-ce que tu penses de ce film ? — What do you think of this film?

Asking for an opinion requires de. Penser à would ask whether the film is on the listener's mind, which is not the question.

Incorrect: Je lui pense souvent. — I often think about him.

Correct: Je pense souvent à lui. — I often think about him.

Penser à does not convert to the indirect pronoun lui in front of the verb. The preposition stays put and takes a stressed pronoun after it.

Incorrect: Je ne pense pas qu'il est prêt. — I don't think he's ready.

Correct: Je ne pense pas qu'il soit prêt. — I don't think he's ready.

Negating penser removes the speaker's commitment to the clause, and French marks that withdrawal with the subjunctive.

Incorrect: Je pense de partir demain. — I'm thinking of leaving tomorrow.

Correct: Je pense partir demain. — I'm thinking of leaving tomorrow.

English thinking of leaving supplies a preposition that French does not want. Penser takes the infinitive directly when it expresses intention.

Penser Conjugated

The verb is regular throughout, so these tables also show the standard -er pattern. The subjunctive column is the one you will need most, because of what negation does to penser que.

Simple tenses

The stem pens- never changes. The future and conditional are built on the full infinitive, keeping the silent e.

Pronoun	présent	imparfait	futur	subjonctif
je	pense	pensais	penserai	pense
tu	penses	pensais	penseras	penses
il / elle / on	pense	pensait	pensera	pense
nous	pensons	pensions	penserons	pensions
vous	pensez	pensiez	penserez	pensiez
ils / elles	pensent	pensaient	penseront	pensent

Je pensais is the natural way to introduce a plan that has changed: je pensais venir, mais…

Compound tenses and the conditional

Penser takes avoir and the participle pensé, which almost never agrees because its complements arrive through à or de.

Pronoun	passé composé	plus-que-parfait	conditionnel
j'	ai pensé	avais pensé	penserais
tu	as pensé	avais pensé	penserais
il / elle / on	a pensé	avait pensé	penserait
nous	avons pensé	avions pensé	penserions
vous	avez pensé	aviez pensé	penseriez
ils / elles	ont pensé	avaient pensé	penseraient

Je n'y avais pas pensé, I hadn't thought of that, is one of the most useful phrases on this page.

The mood after penser que

The same clause changes mood depending on whether the main verb affirms, denies, or questions the belief.

Pronoun	forme	exemple
affirmative	indicatif	je pense qu'il est là
négative	subjonctif	je ne pense pas qu'il soit là
interrogative	subjonctif	penses-tu qu'il soit là ?
négative + inversion	indicatif possible	ne penses-tu pas qu'il est là ?
au passé	indicatif	je pensais qu'il était là
au passé, négatif	subjonctif	je ne pensais pas qu'il soit là

A negative question that expects agreement can keep the indicative, because the speaker is really asserting the clause rather than doubting it.

Penser À, Penser De, and Their Pronouns

The pronoun you need depends on the preposition and on whether the complement is a person or a thing.

Replacing à + a thing with y

Y stands for à plus anything that is not a person. It goes in front of the verb, and in a compound tense in front of the auxiliary.

Tu as pensé aux billets ? — Oui, j'y ai pensé.: Did you think about the tickets? — Yes, I did.
N'y pense plus.: Stop thinking about it.
J'y penserai demain.: I'll think about it tomorrow.

Penses-y takes back the s of the tu imperative before y, exactly like vas-y.

Keeping à for people

With a person, French does not use lui or leur after penser. The preposition stays and a stressed pronoun follows it.

Je pense à elle tous les jours.: I think about her every day.
Il pense beaucoup à eux.: He thinks about them a lot.
Pense à moi de temps en temps.: Think of me now and then.

This applies to a small group of verbs, including penser à, tenir à, songer à and faire attention à.

Replacing de + a thing with en

En stands for de plus a thing, which is why the standard request for an opinion is qu'en penses-tu, literally what of it do you think.

Qu'est-ce que vous en pensez ?: What do you think of it?
Je n'en pense que du bien.: I have nothing but good to say about it.
Elle en pense le plus grand bien.: She thinks extremely highly of it.

Note the position: en sits before the verb, so the question word que ends up detached at the front.

Penser FAQs

What's the difference between penser à and penser de?: Penser à means to have something or someone in mind: je pense à mes vacances. Penser de asks for a judgement: que penses-tu de mes vacances ? The second is used almost exclusively in questions.
How do you say I'm thinking about you in French?: Je pense à toi. With a person, the preposition à stays and takes a stressed pronoun, so it is à toi, à lui, à elle, à eux, never je te pense.
Why does je ne pense pas que take the subjunctive?: Because negating the verb removes the speaker's assertion that the clause is true, and French marks unasserted content with the subjunctive: je ne pense pas qu'il vienne. The affirmative je pense qu'il vient keeps the indicative.
What does qu'en penses-tu mean?: What do you think of it. En replaces de plus the thing being judged, so the phrase is the pronoun version of que penses-tu de cela. It is one of the most common ways to invite an opinion.
Is there a difference between penser faire and penser à faire?: Yes, and it is large. Je pense partir means I plan to leave; je pense à partir means leaving is on my mind, and pense à partir as a command means remember to leave. The à turns intention into a reminder.