List of French verbs followed by the preposition + verb in the infinitive

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In French, some verbs are followed by the prepositions "" (je

cherche comprendre) or "de" (J'vite de comprendre), others

by nothing (je veux comprendre). I looked all over the place for

an explanation, some sort of rule or logic, but couldn't find

anything, and couldn't figure it out myself (if you do know

something, please don't hesitate to share it with all of us and post

a comment, or contact me).

So, there seems to be no other way than to learn them by heart. And its not simple, because the same way prepositions can change the meaning of a verb in English (to look at, for, forward to

something, down on someone, up to someone etc), the same verb can sometimes be followed by or de and change meaning. And then there is the possible reflexive form Furthermore, you cannot translate from English, so these verbs need to be memorized in French. So needless to say that this a bit of a headhache, actually, even listing them is complicated!!

Today, Ill list common verbs (there are more) followed by + infinitive in French, and verbs followed by + noun. Soon, Ill list the verbs followed by de, and the verbs followed by nothing.

List of common French verbs that

are followed by the preposition

+ infinitive To make it clearer, Ill use faire quelque chose as my second verb, but you could replace it by any other infinitive that makes sense.

aider faire quelque chose to help to do something

apprendre faire quelque chose to learn how to do something

arriver faire quelque chose to manage / succeed in doing something

sautoriser faire quelque chose to allow oneself to do something

avoir faire quelque chose to have to / be obliged to do something

chercher faire quelque chose to attempt to do something

commencer faire quelque chose to begin to do something

continuer faire quelque chose to continue to do something

se dcider faire quelque chose to make up ones mind to do something

encourager quelquun faire quelque chose to encourage someone to do something

shabituer faire quelque chose to get used to doing something

hsiter faire quelque chose to hesitate to do something

inviter (quelquun) faire quelque chose to invite (someone) to do something

se mettre faire quelque chose to start doing something

obliger (quelquun) faire quelque chose to force (someone) to do something

parvenir faire quelque chose to succeed in doing something

passer du temps faire quelque chose to spend time doing

perdre du temps faire quelque chose to waste time doing

persister faire quelque chose to persist in doing

pousser (quelquun) faire quelque chose to push someone to do something

se prparer faire quelque chose to prepare oneself to do something

recommencer faire quelque chose to begin doing something again

renoncer faire quelque chose to give up doing something

rsister faire quelque chose to resist doing

russir faire quelque chose to succeed in doing

servir faire quelque chose to be used to do something

tenir faire quelque chose to insist on doing something

samuser faire quelque chose to have fun doing something

shabituer faire quelque chose to get used to doing something

List of common French verbs that

are followed by the preposition

+ noun To make it easier, Ill use Pierre as my noun, Pierre standing for a any person. Note that these verbs will be followed by a indirect object ( Pierre), so its a good idea to drill, do flash cards with these verbs and indirect object (je lui achte, nous leur conseillons etc)

acheter Pierre to buy from Pierre

arracher to tear away from Pierre

conseiller Pierre to advise Pierre

demander Pierre to ask Pierre

dfendre Pierre to forbid Pierre

dsobir Pierre to disobey Pierre

dire Pierre to tell Pierre

donner Pierre to give (to) Pierre

crire Pierre to write to Pierre

emprunter Pierre to borrow from Pierre

envoyer Pierre to send (to) Pierre

tre to belong to Pierre

faire attention Pierre to pay attention to Pierre/ be careful with Pierre

goter la confiture to taste the jam

shabituer Pierre to get used to Pierre

interdire Pierre to forbid Pierre

sintresser Pierre to be interested by Pierre

jouer to play (a game or sport), example jouer au tennis

obir Pierre to obey Pierre

sopposer Pierre to oppose Pierre

ordonner Pierre to order Pierre

pardonner Pierre to forgive Pierre

parler Pierre to talk to Pierre

penser Pierre to think about Pierre

permettre Pierre to allow Pierre

plaire Pierre to please Pierre

profiter Pierre to benefit Pierre

promettre Pierre to promise Pierre

rflchir to consider / reflect upon, example rflchir au problme

rpondre Pierre to answer Pierre

rsister Pierre to resist Pierre

ressembler Pierre to look like Pierre

russir lexamen to pass the test

serrer la main Pierre to shake hands with Pierre

servir Pierre to be useful for Pierre

tlphoner Pierre to call Pierre

voler (quelque chose) Pierre to steal (something) from Pierre