Which French verbs take de before an infinitive?

The frequent ones include décider de, essayer de, oublier de, arrêter de, refuser de, finir de, choisir de, éviter de, rêver de, accepter de and avoir besoin de. Décider de partir, j'ai oublié de téléphoner.

How do I know whether a verb takes à or de?

There is no reliable rule, so the preposition is learned with the verb. The loose tendency is that de points back to a source or topic and à points forward to a goal: finir de travailler, commencer à travailler.

Why does de become du or d'?

De elides to d' before a vowel or mute h (j'ai envie d'un café) and contracts with the definite article to du and des (je parle du livre, je parle des livres). Both changes are compulsory.

Which pronoun replaces a de phrase?

En. Tu te souviens de cette soirée ? Oui, je m'en souviens. Elle a besoin d'argent ? Elle en a besoin. Using le or lui there is one of the clearest signs of a translated sentence.

Why is it demander à quelqu'un de faire something?

Because the thing asked for is the direct object of demander, which leaves the person in the indirect slot with à. That gives j'ai demandé à Paul de venir, and with a pronoun, je lui ai demandé de venir.

French grammar · Intermediate

French Verbs That Take De: Lists, Patterns, and the Traps

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

A large group of French verbs needs de before whatever comes next: décider de partir, parler de son travail, avoir besoin d'aide. The preposition is fixed by the verb, not by the meaning, so it has to be learned with the verb — and it elides to d' before a vowel.

J'ai décidé de partir plus tôt.

I decided to leave earlier.

What it is

French verbs come with their preposition attached, the way English verbs do in depend on or succeed in. De is the commonest of them. It appears before infinitives (essayer de comprendre), before nouns (se souvenir du concert), and inside a large family of avoir expressions.

Il a oublié de fermer la porte et il a peur du noir. — He forgot to close the door and he's afraid of the dark.

How to spot it

There is no rule of meaning to fall back on, but there is a strong pattern: verbs of stopping, refusing, forgetting, deciding, trying and needing take de, and so does anything built on avoir plus a noun.

J'essaie d'ouvrir la fenêtre. — I'm trying to open the window.
Elle a refusé de répondre. — She refused to answer.
Nous avons besoin de temps. — We need time.
Il s'occupe des enfants. — He looks after the children.

De contracts with the definite article: de + le becomes du, de + les becomes des. Je parle du film, je parle des acteurs.

Verbs That Take De Quick Reference

The verbs with de you'll meet first

Verb	Meaning	Example
décider de	to decide to	j'ai décidé de rester — I decided to stay
essayer de	to try to	essaie de comprendre — try to understand
oublier de	to forget to	j'ai oublié de payer — I forgot to pay
arrêter de	to stop doing	arrête de crier — stop shouting
refuser de	to refuse to	il refuse de signer — he refuses to sign
parler de	to talk about	on parle du projet — we're talking about the project
se souvenir de	to remember	je me souviens de toi — I remember you
avoir besoin de	to need	elle a besoin d'aide — she needs help

Common Verbs That Take De Examples in French

The four families of de verbs:

Starting, Stopping, Deciding

Il a arrêté de fumer l'an dernier.: He stopped smoking last year.
Nous avons décidé de vendre la maison.: We decided to sell the house.
Elle a fini de travailler à six heures.: She finished work at six.
J'ai choisi de ne rien dire.: I chose to say nothing.

Commencer is the odd one out here: it takes à, not de. Commencer à travailler.

Trying, Forgetting, Refusing

Essaie de te reposer un peu.: Try to rest a bit.
N'oublie pas d'éteindre la lumière.: Don't forget to turn off the light.
Il a refusé de nous aider.: He refused to help us.
Elle a évité de répondre à la question.: She avoided answering the question.

With ne … pas the de stays exactly where it is: n'oublie pas de venir.

De Before a Noun

Je me souviens de ce voyage.: I remember that trip.
Ça dépend du prix.: It depends on the price.
Elle joue du piano.: She plays the piano.
Nous avons changé de voiture.: We changed cars.

Changer de takes no article at all: changer de train, changer d'avis, changer de sujet.

Avoir Expressions

J'ai envie d'un café.: I fancy a coffee.
Il a peur de l'orage.: He's afraid of the storm.
Elle a l'intention de déménager.: She intends to move.
Nous n'avons pas le temps de discuter.: We don't have time to talk.

These are nouns underneath (besoin, envie, peur, intention), and a noun linked to another word in French normally takes de.

How Verbs With De Work

The preposition is part of the verb's identity, and a few consequences follow from that.

The Verb Chooses the Preposition, Not the Meaning

Nothing about deciding requires de and nothing about starting requires à: décider de and commencer à are simply the shapes those verbs have. Learn the verb and its preposition as a single item.

Il a commencé à écrire et il a décidé de continuer.

He started writing and he decided to carry on.

One verb, one fixed preposition.

De Elides and Contracts

Before a vowel or a mute h, de becomes d'. Before the definite article it contracts: du and des. Both changes are obligatory, in speech and in writing.

J'ai oublié d'apporter les clés du bureau.

I forgot to bring the office keys.

d'apporter, du bureau, des clés.

The Infinitive Stays an Infinitive

Where English uses an -ing form after some verbs, French keeps the infinitive: arrêter de fumer, éviter de parler. There is no French structure equivalent to stop smoking with a participle.

Elle a évité de le regarder.

She avoided looking at him.

de + infinitive, never de + -ant.

De Marks the Thing, À Marks the Person

A group of communication verbs uses both: you say something to someone about something. The person takes à, the action or subject takes de. Dire à quelqu'un de faire, parler à quelqu'un de quelque chose.

J'ai parlé à mon patron de mes horaires.

I spoke to my boss about my hours.

à + person, de + thing.

En Replaces a De Phrase

When you drop the noun after de, the pronoun that stands in for it is en, not le or lui. Tu te souviens du film ? Oui, je m'en souviens.

Elle a besoin d'argent ? Oui, elle en a besoin.

Does she need money? Yes, she needs some.

de + noun → en.

Common Mistakes with Verbs That Take De

Incorrect: J'ai décidé partir demain. — I decided to leave tomorrow.

Correct: J'ai décidé de partir demain. — I decided to leave tomorrow.

English hides the preposition inside the word to. French needs de as a separate word, and leaving it out makes the sentence ungrammatical rather than just clumsy.

Incorrect: Je me souviens le film. — I remember the film.

Correct: Je me souviens du film. — I remember the film.

Se souvenir takes de, and de plus le contracts to du. The related verb se rappeler takes a direct object instead, which is why the two get confused: je me rappelle le film.

Incorrect: Il a essayé de ouvrir la porte. — He tried to open the door.

Correct: Il a essayé d'ouvrir la porte. — He tried to open the door.

De must elide before a vowel. This one is easy to spot in writing and easy to hear: de ouvrir has a hiatus that French avoids.

Incorrect: J'ai demandé mon frère de venir. — I asked my brother to come.

Correct: J'ai demandé à mon frère de venir. — I asked my brother to come.

What you ask for is the direct object; the person you ask is indirect and needs à. The same applies to dire, permettre and conseiller.

When De Shares the Sentence With À

Three patterns put both prepositions in one clause, and getting them the right way round is what separates fluent French from translated English.

Verbs of telling and asking

Demander, dire, permettre, conseiller, promettre and interdire all take à for the person and de for the action. The person is an indirect object, so the pronoun is lui or leur.

J'ai demandé à mon frère de m'aider.: I asked my brother to help me.
Je lui ai dit de patienter.: I told him to wait.
Elle a permis à ses enfants de sortir.: She allowed her children to go out.
Le médecin lui a conseillé de se reposer.: The doctor advised him to rest.

English says ask someone with no preposition, which is exactly why demander quelqu'un feels natural and is wrong.

Verbs where de introduces a bare noun

Changer de, manquer de and jouer de attach de directly to a noun with no article. The absence of the article is part of the structure.

Nous avons changé d'avis.: We changed our minds.
Ce plat manque de sel.: This dish needs salt.
Il joue de la guitare depuis dix ans.: He's played the guitar for ten years.
Elle s'est servie d'un couteau.: She used a knife.

Jouer de is the exception in this group: it keeps the article, because the instrument is a specific thing.

Avoir plus noun plus de

Because the core of these expressions is a noun, they behave like nouns: they link to whatever follows with de, whether that's another noun or an infinitive.

J'ai besoin de dormir.: I need to sleep.
Tu as envie de sortir ce soir ?: Do you feel like going out tonight?
Elle a peur de prendre l'avion.: She's afraid of flying.
Nous avons le droit de refuser.: We have the right to refuse.

The pronoun for all of these is en: j'en ai besoin, j'en ai envie, elle en a peur.

Verbs That Take De FAQs

Which French verbs take de before an infinitive?: The frequent ones include décider de, essayer de, oublier de, arrêter de, refuser de, finir de, choisir de, éviter de, rêver de, accepter de and avoir besoin de. Décider de partir, j'ai oublié de téléphoner.
How do I know whether a verb takes à or de?: There is no reliable rule, so the preposition is learned with the verb. The loose tendency is that de points back to a source or topic and à points forward to a goal: finir de travailler, commencer à travailler.
Why does de become du or d'?: De elides to d' before a vowel or mute h (j'ai envie d'un café) and contracts with the definite article to du and des (je parle du livre, je parle des livres). Both changes are compulsory.
Which pronoun replaces a de phrase?: En. Tu te souviens de cette soirée ? Oui, je m'en souviens. Elle a besoin d'argent ? Elle en a besoin. Using le or lui there is one of the clearest signs of a translated sentence.
Why is it demander à quelqu'un de faire something?: Because the thing asked for is the direct object of demander, which leaves the person in the indirect slot with à. That gives j'ai demandé à Paul de venir, and with a pronoun, je lui ai demandé de venir.