Verbs followed by an infinitive - French Grammar

 

1 Linking two verbs together

• Many verbs in French can be followed by another verb in the infinitive. The infinitive is the form of the verb that is found in the dictionary, such as donner (meaning to give), finir (meaning to finish) and attendre (meaning to wait).
• There are three main ways that verbs can be linked together:

• with no linking word

Vous voulez attendre?

Would you like to wait?

• with the preposition à

J’apprends à nager.

I’m learning to swim.

• with the preposition de

Essayez de venir.

Try to come.

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2 Verbs followed by an infinitive with no preposition

• A number of verbs and groups of verbs can be followed by an infinitive with no preposition. The following important group of verbs are all very irregular, but they crop up so frequently that they are worth learning in full:

• devoir (to have to, must, to be due to)

Tu dois être fatiguée.	You must be tired.
Elle doit partir.	She has to leave.
Le nouveau centre commercial doit ouvrir en mai.	The new shopping centre is due to open in May.

• pouvoir (can, may)

Je peux t’aider, si tu veux.	I can help you, if you like.
Puis-je venir vous voir samedi?	May I come and see you on Saturday?

• savoir (to know how to, can)

Tu sais conduire?	Can you drive?
Je sais faire les omelettes.	I know how to make omelettes.

• vouloir (to want)

Élise veut rester un jour de plus.	Élise wants to stay one more day.
Ma voiture ne veut pas démarrer.	My car won’t start.
Voulez-vous boire quelque chose?	Would you like something to drink?
Je voudrais acheter un ordinateur.	I’d like to buy a computer.

• falloir (meaning to be necessary) and valoir mieux (meaning to be better) are only used in the infinitive and with il.

Il faut prendre une décision.	We/you etc. have to make a decision.
Il vaut mieux téléphoner avant.	It’s better to ring first.

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• The following common verbs can also be followed by an infinitive without a preposition:

adorer	to love
aimer	to like, to love
aimer mieux	to prefer
désirer	to want
détester	to hate
envoyer	to send
espérer	to hope
faire	to make
laisser	to let
préférer	to prefer
sembler	to seem

J’espère te voir la semaine prochaine.	I hope to see you next week.
Ne me fais pas rire!	Don’t make me laugh!
Je préfère manger à la cantine.	I prefer to eat in the canteen.

• Some of these verbs combine with infinitives to make set phrases with a special meaning.

aller chercher quelque chose	to go and get something
laisser tomber quelque chose	to drop something
vouloir dire quelque chose	to mean something
Va chercher ton papa!	Go and get your dad!
Paul a laissé tomber le vase.	Paul dropped the vase.
Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire?	What does that mean?

• Verbs that relate to seeing or hearing, such as voir (meaning to see), regarder (meaning to watch, to look at), écouter (meaning to listen to) and entendre (meaning to hear) can be followed by an infinitive.

Il nous a vus arriver.	He saw us arrive.
On entend chanter les oiseaux.	You can hear the birds singing.

• Verbs that relate to movement of some kind and do not have a direct object, such as aller (meaning to go) and venir (meaning to come), can be followed by an infinitive.

Je vais voir Nicolas ce soir.	I’m going to see Nicolas tonight.
Viens voir!	Come and see!

3 Verbs followed by à + infinitive

• There are some common verbs that can be followed by à and an infinitive.

s’amuser à faire quelque chose	to have fun doing something
apprendre à faire quelque chose	to learn to do something
commencer à faire quelque chose	to begin to do something
continuer à faire quelque chose	to go on doing something
s’habituer à faire quelque chose	to get used to doing something
J’apprends à skier.	I’m learning to ski.
Il a commencé à pleuvoir.	It began to rain.

• Some verbs can be followed by a person’s name or by a noun relating to a person, and then by à and an infinitive. Sometimes you need to put à in front of the person too.

aider quelqu’un à faire quelque chose	to help someone do something
apprendre à quelqu’un à faire quelque chose	to teach someone to do something
inviter quelqu’un à faire quelque chose	to invite someone to do something

4 Verbs followed by de + infinitive

• There are some common verbs that can be followed by de and an infinitive.

arrêter de faire quelque chose,	to stop doing something
s’arrêter de faire quelque chose
continuer de faire quelque chose	to go on doing something
décider de faire quelque chose	to decide to do something
se dépêcher de faire quelque chose	to hurry to do something
essayer de faire quelque chose	to try to do something
s’excuser de faire quelque chose	to apologize for doing something
finir de faire quelque chose	to finish doing something
oublier de faire quelque chose	to forget to do something
proposer de faire quelque chose	to suggest doing something
refuser de faire quelque chose	to refuse to do something
suggérer de faire quelque chose	to suggest doing something
J’ai décidé de lui écrire.	I decided to write to her.
Je leur ai suggéré de partir de bonne heure.	I suggested that they set off early.

• The following verbs meaning asking or telling are also followed by de and an infinitive. Sometimes you need to put à in front of the person you are asking or telling.

commander à quelqu’un de faire quelque chose	to order someone to do something
demander à quelqu’un de faire quelque chose	to ask someone to do something
dire à quelqu’un de faire quelque chose	to tell someone to do something
empêcher quelqu’un de faire quelque chose	to prevent someone from doing something
interdire à quelqu’un de faire quelque chose	to forbid someone to do something
remercier quelqu’un de faire quelque chose	to thank someone for doing something

Grammar Extra!If it is important to emphasize that something is going on at a particular time, you can use the phrase être en train de faire quelque chose.Il est en train de travailler. Est-ce que vous He’s working. Can you call back later? pouvez rappeler plus tard?If you want to say you have just done something, you can use the phrase venir de faire quelque chose. In English you use the PAST tense, but in French you use the PRESENT tense.Élisabeth vient de partir. Élisabeth has just left.

Key points

• Many French verbs can be followed by another verb in the infinitive.
• The two verbs may be linked by nothing at all, or by the preposition à or de.
• The construction in French does not always match the English exactly. It’s best to learn these constructions when you learn a new verb.