14.4. Les verbes suivis de à ou de

Linking Verbs to an Infinitive with À or De

14.4.1. The Main Idea

Some French verbs are followed directly by an infinitive. Other verbs need à or de before the infinitive.

Je veux partir.	I want to leave.
Je commence à comprendre.	I am starting to understand.
J’essaie de comprendre.	I am trying to understand.

There is no perfect English rule for this. The preposition belongs to the French verb, so it is best to learn the verb pattern as a small phrase.

14.4.2. No Preposition Before the Infinitive

Some verbs connect directly to the infinitive.

vouloir + infinitive	to want to ___
pouvoir + infinitive	to be able to / can ___
devoir + infinitive	to have to / must ___
savoir + infinitive	to know how to ___
aimer + infinitive	to like to ___
préférer + infinitive	to prefer to ___
aller + infinitive	to be going to ___

Examples:

Je veux voyager.	I want to travel.
Je peux conduire.	I can drive.
Je dois étudier.	I have to study.
Je sais parler français.	I know how to speak French.
J’aime lire.	I like reading.
Je préfère rester ici.	I prefer to stay here.
Je vais partir demain.	I am going to leave tomorrow.

14.4.3. Verbs Followed by À + Infinitive

Some verbs use à before the infinitive.

commencer à	to start to
continuer à	to continue to
apprendre à	to learn to
aider à	to help to
réussir à	to manage to / succeed in
arriver à	to manage to

Examples:

Je commence à comprendre.	I am starting to understand.
Tu continues à étudier ?	Are you continuing to study?
J’apprends à conduire.	I am learning to drive.
Il m’aide à trouver la gare.	He helps me find the train station.
Elle réussit à parler français.	She manages to speak French.
Nous arrivons à expliquer le problème.	We manage to explain the problem.

14.4.4. Verbs Followed by De + Infinitive

Some verbs use de before the infinitive.

essayer de	to try to
décider de	to decide to
oublier de	to forget to
arrêter de	to stop ___ing
finir de	to finish ___ing
avoir besoin de	to need to
avoir envie de	to feel like / want to

Examples:

J’essaie de comprendre.	I am trying to understand.
Je décide de partir.	I decide to leave.
Tu oublies de répondre ?	Do you forget to answer?
Il arrête de parler.	He stops talking.
Elle finit de travailler.	She finishes working.
J’ai besoin de dormir.	I need to sleep.
J’ai envie de voyager.	I feel like traveling.

14.4.5. À or De with Object Pronouns

When an object pronoun is used with the infinitive, the pronoun goes before the infinitive.

Je commence à le comprendre.	I am starting to understand it.
J’essaie de le comprendre.	I am trying to understand it.
Je continue à lui parler.	I continue to speak to him / her.
Je décide de leur écrire.	I decide to write to them.
J’ai envie d’y aller.	I feel like going there.
J’ai besoin d’en parler.	I need to talk about it.

Before a vowel sound, de becomes d’.

de + y aller	d’y aller
de + en parler	d’en parler
de + étudier	d’étudier

14.4.6. Connecting with Earlier Verbs

You already know many verbs that connect directly to an infinitive.

Je veux partir.	I want to leave.
Je peux partir.	I can leave.
Je dois partir.	I have to leave.
Je sais conduire.	I know how to drive.
Je vais partir.	I am going to leave.
Je voudrais partir.	I would like to leave.

Now compare:

Je commence à partir.	I am starting to leave.
J’essaie de partir.	I am trying to leave.
Je décide de partir.	I decide to leave.
Je continue à partir tôt.	I continue to leave early.

14.4.7. With Opinions and Importance

This connects well with opinions from this module.

Il est important de comprendre.	It is important to understand.
Il est essentiel d’écouter.	It is essential to listen.
Il est nécessaire de poser des questions.	It is necessary to ask questions.
Je pense qu’il faut continuer à apprendre.	I think we have to continue learning.
À mon avis, il faut essayer de comprendre.	In my opinion, we have to try to understand.

14.4.8. Negative Sentences

Place ne… pas around the conjugated verb.

Je commence à comprendre.	Je ne commence pas à comprendre.
J’essaie de comprendre.	Je n’essaie pas de comprendre.
Je décide de partir.	Je ne décide pas de partir.
Je continue à étudier.	Je ne continue pas à étudier.
J’ai envie de sortir.	Je n’ai pas envie de sortir.

14.4.9. Questions

Tu commences à comprendre ?	Are you starting to understand?
Tu continues à apprendre le français ?	Are you continuing to learn French?
Tu essaies de parler français ?	Are you trying to speak French?
Tu as besoin de dormir ?	Do you need to sleep?
Tu as envie de sortir ?	Do you feel like going out?
Vous décidez de partir ?	Are you deciding to leave? formal or plural

14.4.10. Core Patterns

verb + infinitive	Je veux partir.
verb + à + infinitive	Je commence à comprendre.
verb + de + infinitive	J’essaie de comprendre.
de + vowel sound	d’
à / de + pronoun + infinitive	Je commence à le faire. / J’essaie de le faire.
Il est important de + infinitive	It is important to ___.
Il faut + infinitive	You have to ___.

14.4.11. Practice

I want to leave.
I am starting to understand.
I am trying to understand.
I continue to study French.
I decide to leave.
I need to sleep.
I feel like traveling.
It is important to listen.
I am trying to understand it.

14.4.12. Answers

I want to leave.	Je veux partir.
I am starting to understand.	Je commence à comprendre.
I am trying to understand.	J’essaie de comprendre.
I continue to study French.	Je continue à étudier le français.
I decide to leave.	Je décide de partir.
I need to sleep.	J’ai besoin de dormir.
I feel like traveling.	J’ai envie de voyager.
It is important to listen.	Il est important d’écouter.
I am trying to understand it.	J’essaie de le comprendre.

14.4.13. Short Dialogue

A : Tu continues à apprendre le français ?	A: Are you continuing to learn French?
B : Oui, j’essaie de parler français tous les jours.	B: Yes, I try to speak French every day.
A : À ton avis, c’est important ?	A: In your opinion, is it important?
B : Oui, il est essentiel de pratiquer.	B: Yes, it is essential to practice.
A : Tu as envie d’étudier ce soir ?	A: Do you feel like studying tonight?
B : Oui, mais j’ai besoin de dormir aussi.	B: Yes, but I also need to sleep.

14.4.14. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to recognize verbs that connect directly to an infinitive, verbs that need à, and verbs that need de. You should also be able to use common patterns such as commencer à, continuer à, essayer de, décider de, avoir besoin de, and avoir envie de.