French Verb Prepositions: À, De, or Nothing Before an Infinitive

“I want to leave.” “I’m trying to understand.” “I’m learning to drive.”

In English, all three use “to” before the second verb. French doesn’t work quite the same way:

Je veux partir. I want to leave. no preposition

J’essaie de comprendre. I’m trying to understand. de + infinitive

J’apprends à conduire. I’m learning to drive. à + infinitive

The second verb stays in the infinitive (partir, comprendre, conduire), but what comes before it changes.

✦The Rule✦

When one French verb is followed by an infinitive, there are three common patterns:

No preposition: vouloir partir (to want to leave)
À + infinitive: apprendre à conduire (to learn to drive)
De + infinitive: essayer de comprendre (to try to understand)

Unfortunately, there’s no reliable rule for predicting which pattern a verb uses. The best approach is to learn each verb together with its construction.

1. Verbs With No Preposition

Some common French verbs connect directly to an infinitive, without à or de.

Je veux apprendre le français. I want to learn French. vouloir + infinitive

Elle peut venir demain. She can come tomorrow. pouvoir + infinitive

Nous devons partir tôt. We have to leave early. devoir + infinitive

J’aime lire. I like reading. aimer + infinitive

Il préfère rester chez lui. He prefers to stay home. préférer + infinitive

J’espère réussir. I hope to succeed. espérer + infinitive

Verbs you already know work the same way: aller (je vais partir), savoir (je sais nager), and il faut (il faut partir). Even though English uses “to” in many of these translations, French doesn’t need a preposition.

2. Verbs That Take À

Several common verbs about starting, learning, or managing to do something use à before an infinitive. It isn’t a strict rule, but the pattern helps you remember them.

Je commence à comprendre. I’m starting to understand. commencer à — to start

Elle apprend à conduire. She’s learning to drive. apprendre à — to learn

Nous avons réussi à finir le projet. We managed to finish the project. réussir à — to manage to

Il hésite à répondre. He’s hesitating to answer. hésiter à — to hesitate

Je n’arrive pas à dormir. I can’t get to sleep. arriver à — to manage to

Arriver À: Arriving or Managing?

Arriver à means “to arrive at” before a place, but “to manage to” before an infinitive. Same preposition, different meaning:

J’arrive à la gare. I’m arriving at the station. arriver à + place — arrive

J’arrive à comprendre. I manage to understand. arriver à + infinitive — manage

3. Verbs That Take DE

Many verbs about deciding, trying, stopping, or forgetting use de before an infinitive. As with à, learn each verb together with its preposition.

J’essaie de parler français. I’m trying to speak French. essayer de — to try

Nous avons décidé de partir. We decided to leave. décider de — to decide

J’ai oublié de fermer la porte. I forgot to close the door. oublier de — to forget

Elle a arrêté de fumer. She stopped smoking. arrêter de — to stop

J’ai fini de manger. I’ve finished eating. finir de — to finish

Il refuse de répondre. He refuses to answer. refuser de — to refuse

Notice that English sometimes uses “to” and sometimes “-ing.” Neither tells you whether French needs de.

De Becomes D’ Before a Vowel

Before a vowel sound or silent h, de becomes d’. The construction hasn’t changed; it’s just the usual elision.

Elle décide d’étudier. She decides to study. de → d’ before a vowel

J’essaie d’apprendre. I’m trying to learn. de → d’ before a vowel

4. Similar Meanings, Different Prepositions

Here’s where it gets tricky: verbs with similar meanings don’t necessarily follow the same construction.

Je veux partir. I want to leave. vouloir — no preposition

J’essaie de partir. I’m trying to leave. essayer de

Je peux finir le travail. I can finish the work. pouvoir — no preposition

Je réussis à finir le travail. I’m managing to finish the work. réussir à

Je préfère rester. I prefer to stay. préférer — no preposition

Je décide de rester. I decide to stay. décider de

That’s why translating English “to” doesn’t work. The preposition belongs to the French verb, not to the English wording.

5. A Few Exceptions Worth Knowing

Commencer À or Commencer De?

Il commence à pleuvoir. It’s starting to rain. commencer à — the everyday form

Commencer à is the everyday form. You may see commencer de in literary or formal French, and continuer also works with either à or de. For these drills, stick with commencer à.

Venir vs. Venir De

Sometimes adding de changes the meaning of the whole expression:

Je viens manger. I’m coming to eat. venir + infinitive — coming to do

Je viens de manger. I’ve just eaten. venir de + infinitive — just did

You may recognize venir de as the recent-past construction.

What About Nouns and People?

This guide is about a verb followed by another verb. French also uses à and de before nouns and people, but that’s a different choice:

Je parle à Marie. I’m talking to Marie. parler à + person

Je parle de Marie. I’m talking about Marie. parler de + person

Those constructions connect to the Object Pronouns and Y vs. En guides, so they aren’t part of this deck.

Now it’s time to practice. The Verb Prepositions deck will help you recognize these verb patterns naturally, without relying on English translations.