Verb followed by ab infinitive

Question

I constantly make errors when a infinitive follows another verb.  Sometimes the preposition 'de' introduces the infinitive as in "...decide de couper... " in the above exercise.   Sometimes the preposition  'à' intervenes as in "intéresser à".  Then there are verbs which take no preposition, for example "aller".  Finally, we have an example using the preposition pour, as in "...insisted pour payer..." in the exercise.  My question is "Are there patterns for these verbs or is it a matter of just learning by rote or just by listening to hundreds of conversations to remember the usage?" Thanks so much for your consideration.

Accepted Answer

Hi Frank, 
There are some lists of verbs that are followed by a preposition on the system and below are a couple of them.
https://french.kwiziq.com/learn/theme/3744352 
https://french.kwiziq.com/learn/theme/3907306 
https://french.kwiziq.com/learn/theme/3812349
There are also fill-in-the-blanks exercises on that very topic -
https://french.kwiziq.com/my-languages/french/tests/overview/5770957
Hope these help!

Answer

No, there's no rule you could memorize and then get it right. You just have to learn the prepositions along with the verbs. But don't fret over it too much. You'll develop a feeling over time, and the proportion you get right will be growing steadily.