Français — Verb + à/de + infinitive
When a French verb is followed by another verb in the infinitive, the second verb is often introduced by à or de — and some verbs take no preposition at all. The choice depends on the first verb, not on meaning, so it must be learned verb by verb: commencer à, réussir à, finir de, essayer de, décider de, but vouloir partir.
How it works
Each verb governs its own construction. Verbs of beginning/succeeding often take à (commencer à faire, réussir à faire); many verbs of finishing, trying and deciding take de (finir de faire, essayer de faire, décider de faire); and a set of common verbs — modals, verbs of wish and preference — take the infinitive directly with no preposition (vouloir faire, aimer faire, devoir faire).
Examples
| Verb + construction | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| commencer à + inf. | Il commence à pleuvoir. | to begin to |
| réussir à + inf. | J'ai réussi à tout finir. | to manage / succeed in |
| finir de + inf. | Elle a fini de manger. | to finish (doing) |
| essayer de + inf. | J'essaie de comprendre. | to try to |
| décider de + inf. | Nous avons décidé de partir. | to decide to |
| vouloir + inf. (direct) | Je veux partir. | to want to (no preposition) |
| aimer + inf. (direct) | Il aime lire. | to like to (no preposition) |
| devoir + inf. (direct) | Tu dois travailler. | must / to have to (no preposition) |
Good to know
The preposition belongs to the first verb, not to the meaning, so a near-synonym may behave differently: essayer de faire but commencer à faire. A few verbs even change meaning with the preposition — décider de faire (to decide to do) versus se décider à faire (to make up one's mind, finally, to do). When in doubt, learn the verb together with its preposition, exactly as you would learn a word's gender.