Which French verbs take à before an infinitive?

The frequent ones are commencer à, apprendre à, réussir à, arriver à, aider à, continuer à, hésiter à, se mettre à, chercher à, parvenir à, and renoncer à. Nothing in the meaning predicts the preposition, so they are best learned as fixed units: commencer à faire, not commencer faire.

Why does French say téléphoner à but appeler with no preposition?

Because the preposition is a property of the individual verb. Téléphoner à qqn treats the person as an indirect object, so the pronoun is lui: je lui téléphone. Appeler is transitive, so the pronoun is le or la: je l'appelle.

How do you replace an à complement with a pronoun?

Use lui or leur for people and y for things: je réponds à Marie becomes je lui réponds, and je pense à mon travail becomes j'y pense. Penser à, tenir à, and faire attention à keep à plus a stressed pronoun when the complement is a person: je pense à toi.

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

Penser à means to have something on your mind: je pense à mes examens. Penser de asks for or gives an opinion, and it appears mostly in questions: qu'est-ce que tu penses de ce livre ? The answer then uses que: je pense que c'est bien.

Are there verbs that take à in French but no preposition in English?

Several, and they cause most of the trouble: obéir à, ressembler à, répondre à, plaire à, survivre à, assister à, participer à, and appartenir à. Elle a survécu à l'accident and il a assisté à la réunion both need the à that English leaves out.

French grammar · Intermediate

French Verbs That Take À: The Lists and the Logic

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

A large group of French verbs requires à before their complement, either in front of a person (téléphoner à sa mère) or in front of an infinitive (commencer à travailler). The preposition belongs to the verb, not to the meaning, so it has to be learned with the verb rather than guessed from English.

J'ai réussi à convaincre mon frère de venir.

I managed to persuade my brother to come.

What it is

À after a verb does one of two jobs. Before a person or thing it marks an indirect object: the thing the action is aimed at. Before an infinitive it is a link with no meaning of its own, holding the second verb onto the first. Both are fixed by the verb, which is why téléphoner needs à and appeler does not.

Je téléphone à Paul et je commence à comprendre. — I'm phoning Paul and I'm starting to understand.

How to spot it

Check what follows the verb. A person or thing means you are dealing with an indirect object and can replace it with lui, leur, or y. An infinitive means the à is purely structural.

Elle répond à la question. — She's answering the question. (à + thing)
Il ressemble à son père. — He looks like his father. (à + person)
J'apprends à nager. — I'm learning to swim. (à + infinitive)
Aide-moi à porter ça. — Help me carry this. (person, then à + infinitive)

À contracts with le and les to give au and aux, but never with a name or a stressed pronoun: je pense à Marie, je pense à toi.

Verbs That Take À Quick Reference

The verbs you will meet most often

Verb	Meaning	Example
commencer à	to start doing	Il commence à pleuvoir. — It's starting to rain.
apprendre à	to learn to	J'apprends à conduire. — I'm learning to drive.
réussir à	to manage to	Elle a réussi à ouvrir la porte. — She managed to open the door.
arriver à	to succeed in	Je n'arrive pas à dormir. — I can't get to sleep.
téléphoner à	to phone someone	Téléphone à ta sœur. — Phone your sister.
répondre à	to answer	Réponds à ma question. — Answer my question.
ressembler à	to look like	Tu ressembles à ta mère. — You look like your mother.
s'intéresser à	to be interested in	Il s'intéresse à la peinture. — He's interested in painting.

Common Verbs That Take À Examples in French

The four patterns, each with the verbs that use it:

À + Infinitive: Starting, Trying, Managing

Il commence à comprendre.: He's beginning to understand.
Elle a réussi à le convaincre.: She managed to convince him.
Je n'arrive pas à ouvrir ce pot.: I can't get this jar open.
Nous hésitons à accepter.: We're hesitating over accepting.
Il continue à travailler malgré tout.: He carries on working in spite of everything.

Continuer accepts both à and de with no change in meaning. It is the one verb in this group where either is correct.

À + Person: The Indirect Object Verbs

J'ai téléphoné à mon frère.: I phoned my brother.
Elle a répondu à Paul.: She answered Paul.
Ce film plaît à tout le monde.: Everyone likes this film.
Obéis à tes parents.: Obey your parents.
Il manque à sa famille.: His family misses him.

Manquer à reverses the English: the person who is missed is the subject, and the ones doing the missing take à.

À + Thing

Je pense à mon travail.: I'm thinking about my work.
Elle s'intéresse à la politique.: She's interested in politics.
Nous avons assisté à la cérémonie.: We attended the ceremony.
Il a survécu à l'accident.: He survived the accident.
Elle tient beaucoup à cette bague.: That ring means a lot to her.

Assister à and survivre à both take a preposition where English takes a plain object, which makes them easy to get wrong.

Two Objects: Person, Then À + Infinitive

Il m'a aidé à déménager.: He helped me move house.
Elle nous a invités à dîner.: She invited us to dinner.
Je l'ai encouragé à postuler.: I encouraged him to apply.
Ils l'ont obligé à démissionner.: They forced him to resign.

In this pattern the person is a direct object and comes first; à then introduces what they are being pushed towards.

How À Works After a Verb

Five points that turn a long vocabulary list into a small number of patterns.

The Preposition Belongs to the Verb

Nothing about the meaning of téléphoner requires à, and nothing about appeler forbids it. The preposition is part of the verb's entry in the dictionary, which is why French and English so often disagree about it.

Je téléphone à Marie, mais j'appelle Marie.

I'm phoning Marie, and I'm calling Marie.

Learn the verb with its preposition attached.

À + Person Becomes Lui or Leur

Because à marks an indirect object, the person it introduces is replaced by lui in the singular and leur in the plural. These pronouns already contain the à, so it disappears.

Je lui ai répondu tout de suite.

I answered him straight away.

à + person → lui / leur.

À + Thing Becomes Y

When the complement is a thing or an idea rather than a person, the pronoun is y. It sits in front of the verb like any other object pronoun.

J'y pense souvent.

I think about it often.

à + thing → y.

Before an Infinitive, À Carries No Meaning

In commencer à faire or apprendre à faire, the à is not translating to. It is a joint. Whether a verb uses à, de, or nothing at all is arbitrary and has to be memorised verb by verb.

J'apprends à jouer, j'essaie de jouer, je veux jouer.

I'm learning to play, I'm trying to play, I want to play.

à, de, or nothing — the verb decides.

À Contracts, Except Before People

À le becomes au and à les becomes aux. But names, stressed pronouns, and the pronouns lui and leur are untouched: à Marie, à toi, à eux.

Elle joue aux cartes et elle pense à eux.

She plays cards and she thinks about them.

au, aux — never before a name.

Common Mistakes with Verbs That Take À

Incorrect: Je téléphone ma mère tous les jours. — I phone my mother every day.

Correct: Je téléphone à ma mère tous les jours. — I phone my mother every day.

Téléphoner treats the person as an indirect object, so the à is obligatory. English to phone someone gives no clue, which is why this error survives for years.

Incorrect: Je pense de toi. — I'm thinking of you.

Correct: Je pense à toi. — I'm thinking of you.

Penser de exists, but it asks for an opinion: que penses-tu de lui. Having someone on your mind is penser à.

Incorrect: Je l'ai répondu hier. — I answered him yesterday.

Correct: Je lui ai répondu hier. — I answered him yesterday.

Répondre à takes an indirect object, so the pronoun has to be lui, not le or la. Le would imply répondre works like a transitive verb, which it does not with a person.

Incorrect: J'ai réussi de le faire. — I managed to do it.

Correct: J'ai réussi à le faire. — I managed to do it.

Réussir takes à before an infinitive. De is the preposition for its opposite, essayer de and refuser de, which is where the interference comes from.

Pronouns and Verbs That Take Both

Two areas where the à pattern needs more than a list: replacing the complement with a pronoun, and verbs that accept à and de with different meanings.

Replacing the à complement

People become lui or leur, things become y. A small set of verbs resists this and keeps à plus a stressed pronoun instead: penser à, tenir à, faire attention à, s'intéresser à.

Je lui téléphone ce soir.: I'm phoning him this evening.
Elle leur a obéi.: She obeyed them.
Nous y avons assisté.: We attended it.
Je pense à toi.: I'm thinking of you.

Je te pense is not French. With penser à, the person stays behind the preposition: je pense à toi, à lui, à eux.

Verbs that take à and de with different senses

A handful of verbs accept both prepositions, and the choice changes the meaning rather than the register.

Il parle à son voisin de ses projets.: He's talking to his neighbour about his plans.
Elle manque à ses amis.: Her friends miss her.
Ce plat manque de sel.: This dish needs salt.
Il a commencé par une blague.: He started with a joke.

Commencer à is starting to do something; commencer par is the first item in a sequence.

Verbs where French adds à and English adds nothing

These are the ones that produce errors, because the English verb takes a plain object and gives you no hint that a preposition is needed.

Elle ressemble à sa grand-mère.: She looks like her grandmother.
Il a participé à la réunion.: He took part in the meeting.
Ce sac appartient à Julie.: This bag belongs to Julie.
Elle a renoncé à son poste.: She gave up her position.

The reverse list is worth knowing too: écouter, regarder, attendre, chercher and payer take a direct object in French although English adds to, at, or for.

Verbs That Take À FAQs

Which French verbs take à before an infinitive?: The frequent ones are commencer à, apprendre à, réussir à, arriver à, aider à, continuer à, hésiter à, se mettre à, chercher à, parvenir à, and renoncer à. Nothing in the meaning predicts the preposition, so they are best learned as fixed units: commencer à faire, not commencer faire.
Why does French say téléphoner à but appeler with no preposition?: Because the preposition is a property of the individual verb. Téléphoner à qqn treats the person as an indirect object, so the pronoun is lui: je lui téléphone. Appeler is transitive, so the pronoun is le or la: je l'appelle.
How do you replace an à complement with a pronoun?: Use lui or leur for people and y for things: je réponds à Marie becomes je lui réponds, and je pense à mon travail becomes j'y pense. Penser à, tenir à, and faire attention à keep à plus a stressed pronoun when the complement is a person: je pense à toi.
What's the difference between penser à and penser de?: Penser à means to have something on your mind: je pense à mes examens. Penser de asks for or gives an opinion, and it appears mostly in questions: qu'est-ce que tu penses de ce livre ? The answer then uses que: je pense que c'est bien.
Are there verbs that take à in French but no preposition in English?: Several, and they cause most of the trouble: obéir à, ressembler à, répondre à, plaire à, survivre à, assister à, participer à, and appartenir à. Elle a survécu à l'accident and il a assisté à la réunion both need the à that English leaves out.