“de” or “ d’ ” is one of the most important preposition and word in French. It generally means “of or from”, but it has quite many other meanings and uses than that. It’s often confused with the preposition “à” which generally means “to, at or in”.
“de” has two contracted forms: with the masculine definite article “le” and the plural definite article “les”.
de + le = “du” – Il est à côté du cinéma, He is next to the cinema
de + les = “des” – C’est un chien des montagnes, It’s a dog of the mountains
But it doesn’t contract itself with the feminine definite article “la” and the article with elision “ l’ ”
de + la stays “de la” – C’est près de la rue, It’s near the street
de + l’ stays “de l’ ” – Je viens de l’hôpital, I’m coming from the hospital
Contents
The different uses of “de” in French:
1) For a possession:
2) For a starting point or an origin:
3) To describe something:
4) For a means or a manner of doing something:
5) For a cause or a reason:
6) For a reference point (with “à”):
The preposition “de” and French verbs:
1 – First, “de” is often used after some verbs and expressions when they are followed by an infinitive. You will notice that in English, it has two possible translations: an infinitive (to choose to do smth) or a gerund (to finish eating).
There are many of them, but here are 10 of the most common ones:
- Accepter de … > to accept to … / to agree to …
- Avoir peur de … > be afraid of …-ing
- Choisir de … > to choose to …
- Continuer de > to continue …-ing
- Décider de … > to decide to …
- Dire (à quelqu’un) de > to tell (someone) to …
- Finir de … > to finish …-ing
- Promettre de … > to promise to …
- Regretter de … > to regret …-ing
- Venir de (faire quelque chose) > to have just (done something)
2 – Besides, “de” is also used after some French verbs and expressions when they need an indirect object.
- Avoir besoin de … > to need …
- S’approcher de > to get near … / to get close to …
- Jouer de … > to play (an instrument)
- Manquer de … > to lack …
- Se moquer de > to make fun of
- S’occuper de … > to take care of … / to deal with … / to look after …
- Partir de > to leave …
- Profiter de … > to take the opportunity to … /to take advantage of … / to make the most of …
- Se souvenir de … > to remember …
- Se tromper de (quelque chose) … > to take/get the wrong (thing)
Additional notes:
“de” (and its object) can be replaced by the adverbial pronoun “en” when it’s followed by an inanimate noun (not a person):