French verbs followed by DE + Infinitive
These verbs must be followed by the preposition DE when they are used before verbs in the infinitive form. There are plenty of other verbs that require DE, but here are some of the most common ones.
It will not be helpful to translate from English to French because many times we don’t need a preposition in English. The best thing to do is work on memorizing this list.
You can download a free PDF of this list in my private French Grammar Library.
List of French Verbs Followed by the Preposition DE + INFINITIVE
| accepter de to accept doing something |
| accuser de to accuse (someone) of something |
| arrêter de to stop doing something |
| avoir besoin de to need to do something |
| avoir envie de to want to do something |
| avoir l’air de to seem to be doing something |
| avoir l’intention de to intend to do something |
| avoir peur de to be afraid of doing something |
| avoir raison de to be right to do something |
| avoir tort de to be wrong to do something |
| cesser de to cease doing something |
| choisir de to choose to do something |
| conseiller de to advise (someone) to do something |
| continuer de to continue doing something (negative connotation) |
| décider de to decide to do something |
| défendre de to not allow doing something |
| demander de to ask to do something |
| dire de to say to do something |
| empêcher de to prevent (someone from) doing something |
| envisager de to contemplate doing something |
| essayer de to try to do something; to make an effort |
| être obligé de to have to do something |
| éviter de to avoid doing something |
| faire exprès de to do something on purpose |
| faire semblant de to pretend to be doing something |
| finir de to finish doing something |
| manquer de to neglect doing something / to almost do something |
| mériter de to deserve doing something |
| offrir de to offer to do something |
| oublier de to forget to do something |
| parler de to talk about doing something |
| permettre de to allow (someone) to do something |
| persuader de to persuade / convince (someone) to do something |
| prévoir de to plan to do something |
| promettre de to promise to do something |
| proposer de to suggest doing something |
| refuser de to refuse doing something |
| remercier de to thank (someone) for doing something |
| rêver de to dream of doing something |
| risquer de to risk doing something / might do something |
| se charger de to take care of doing something |
| se dépêcher de to hurry (to do) something |
| s’excuser de to apologize for doing something |
| suggérer de to suggest doing something |
| tenter de to attempt doing something |
| venir de recent past = to have just done something |
Other lists to master:
👉Verbs + NO PREPOSITION + Infinitives
