Verbs + de + [infinitive]

Verbs followed by the preposition de plus an infinitive

Vocab

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Accepter de [faire]		To agree [to do]
Arrêter de [faire]		To stop [doing]
Choisir de [faire]		To choose [to do]
Commencer de [faire]		To start [doing]
Continuer de [faire]		To carry on [doing]
Décider de [faire]		To decide to [do]
Dire de [faire]		To tell to [do]
Essayer de [faire]		To try to [do]
Faire exprès de [faire]		To do [something] on purpose
Finir de [faire]		To finish [doing]
Oublier de [faire]		To forget [to do]
Refuser de [faire]		To refuse [to do]
Rêver de [faire]		To dream of [doing]
Se dépêcher de [faire]		To hurry [to do]
S'excuser de [faire]		To apologise for [doing]
Suggérer de [faire]		To suggest [doing]

Q&A Forum 2 questions, 3 answers

ThaliaC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

No notebook add feature?

I'd love to add this page to my notebook but don't see the button for it. Can you please add that feature to this page? Thank you!

Asked 4 months ago

Like1Answer1

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

You can add quizzes to your notebook, not grammar lists.

Like04 months ago

Thalia asked:View original

No notebook add feature?

I'd love to add this page to my notebook but don't see the button for it. Can you please add that feature to this page? Thank you!

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JohnC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Commencer à faire ou commencer de faire

Hi,

There are lists of verbs that take à or de before an infinitive and commencer is on both lists. Can you explain when to use which construction? Thanks.

Asked 6 months ago

Like0Answer2

CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi John,

There is a slight difference in usage between the two but I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Commencer à is more used than commencer de.

You might be interested in reading my answer to Shrey on the matter in the following question which explains the difference -

https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/questions/view/queries-pertaining-to-grammatical-concepts

Hope this helps!

Like05 months ago

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

It is commencer à, with commencer de being reserved for literary use.

Like06 months ago

John asked:View original

Commencer à faire ou commencer de faire

Hi,

There are lists of verbs that take à or de before an infinitive and commencer is on both lists. Can you explain when to use which construction? Thanks.

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