Prepositions
prepositions with infinitives
The infinitive is the verb form generally used after a preposition in French. À (to) and de (from, about) are the most common prepositions in French. In many expressions, the choice of the preposition à or de before an infinitive is purely idiomatic; that is, it is unrelated to meaning. In such cases, one must memorize which preposition is used.
à + infinitive
When the following verbs are followed by an infinitive, the preposition à is required.
| Tex a du mal à trouver l’inspiration. | Tex finds it difficult to find inspiration. |
| aider à, to help to | encourager à, to encourage to | |
| s’amuser à, to have fun at | s’habituer à, to get used to | |
| apprendre à, to learn to | hésiter à, to hesitate to | |
| arriver à, to succeed in, to manage to | inviter à, to invite to | |
| s’attendre à, to expect to | se mettre à, to start to | |
| avoir du mal à, to find it difficult to | se préparer à, to prepare to | |
| chercher à, to try to, to attempt to | renoncer à, to give up | |
| commencer à, to start to | réussir à, to succeed at | |
| continuer à/de, to continue to (either à or de) |
servir à, to be used for | |
| se décider à, to make up one’s mind to | tenir à, to be anxious to, to be eager to |
de + infinitive
When the following verbs are followed by an infinitive, the preposition de is required.
| Tex arrête d’écrire, parce qu’il rêve d’embrasser Tammy. | Tex stops writing, because he is dreaming of kissing Tammy. |
| (s’)arrêter de, to stop | oublier de, to forget to | |
| choisir de, to choose to | permettre (à quelqu’un) de, to permit someone to |
|
| conseiller de, to advise to | persuader de, to persuade to | |
| se contenter de, to content oneself with | se presser de, to hurry to | |
| continuer à/de, to continue to (either à or de) |
promettre de, to promise to | |
| décider de, to decide to | proposer de, to propose to | |
| s’efforcer de to try hard to, to endeavor to | refuser de, to refuse to | |
| essayer de, to try to | rêver de to dream of | |
| s’excuser de, to apologize for | se soucier de, to care about | |
| finir de, to finish | se souvenir de, to remember to | |
| mériter de, to deserve, to be worth |
Most idiomatic expressions with avoir also require de + infinitive:
| Oh, Tex a l’air de rêver. | Oh, Tex seems to be dreaming. | |
| Tex a peur de se réveiller. | Tex is afraid of waking up. | |
| Tex a envie de dormir. | Tex feels like sleeping. | |
| Tex a besoin de se reposer. | Tex needs to rest. | |
| Tex a honte d’être américain. | Tex is ashamed of being American. | |
| Tex a tort d’être susceptible. | Tex is wrong in being touchy / should not be touchy. |
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| Tex a raison d‘être fier. | Tex is right to be proud. |
The infinitive may be used to complete the sense of an adjective or a pronoun. Generally infinitives following a noun or adjective are preceded by the preposition de. (Tex est content de voir Tammy dans ses rêves érotiques. Tex is glad to see Tammy in his erotic dreams.)
However, adjectives and nouns are followed by the preposition à + infinitive to indicate a passive sense or a function: “cette eau est bonne à boire” (this is drinking water), “ce livre est amusant à lire” (this book is fun to read), “c’est triste à voir” (it’s a sorry sight), “c’est difficile à dire” (this is difficult to say).
pour, afin de, avant de, sans, par + infinitive
The infinitive expresses purpose when it is used after pour or afin de (in order to).
In the case of avant de (before) and sans (without), the English translation is often a conjugated verb (before they left), or a present participle (without speaking), rather than the English infinitive.
The infinitive follows the preposition par (by) after the verbs commencer (to start) and finir (to finish).
| pour/afin de | Tex s’allonge sur son lit pour lire. | Tex lies down on his bed to read. | ||
| avant de | Avant de s’endormir, Tex lit toujours un poème érotique. | Before going to sleep, Tex always reads an erotic poem. | ||
| sans | Il ne peut pas dormir sans rêver de Tammy. | He can not sleep without dreaming of Tammy. | ||
| par | Il finit par rêver de Tammy toute la nuit. | He ends up dreaming of Tammy all night long. |
après (past infinitive constructions)
The infinitive of avoir or être plus the past participle of a verb is used after the preposition après (after) to describe a preceding action in the past. Note the past participle agreement in past constructions with être.
| Après avoir rêvé de Tammy, Tex retrouve son inspiration. | After dreaming of Tammy, Tex finds his inspiration again. | |
| Après être devenue la muse de Tex, Tammy est passée à la postérité! | After becoming Tex’ muse, Tammy is immortalized! |
