verbs with à

Some French verbs require the preposition à before their object, whether that object is a noun or an infinitive. Learning these verbs as fixed expressions is necessary because the preposition is not optional.

Verbs followed by “à” before a person or thing

These verbs require à when the object is a person or thing.

  • Acheter à = to buy from
    • Elle a acheté ce sac à une amie. = She bought this bag from a friend.
  • Appartenir à = to belong to
    • Ce livre appartient à Paul. = This book belongs to Paul.
  • Assister à = to attend
    • Nous avons assisté à la conférence. = We attended the conference.
  • Demander à = to ask (someone)
    • Je demande à Paul = I’m asking Paul
    • il demande à quelqu’un = he’s asking someone
    • elle lui demande son nom = she asks him his name
  • Déplaire à = to displease
    • Son attitude déplaît à tout le monde. = His attitude displeases everyone.
  • Désobéir à = to disobey
    • Elle a désobéi à son professeur. = She disobeyed her teacher.
  • Dire à = to say to, to tell
    • J’ai dit à mon frère de venir. = I told my brother to come.
  • Donner à = to give to
    • Donne ce livre à ton frère. = Give this book to your brother.
  • Écrire à = to write to
    • J’écris à mes amis. = I am writing to my friends.
  • Emprunter à = to borrow from
    • J’ai emprunté un livre à la bibliothèque. = I borrowed a book from the library.
  • Envoyer à = to send to
    • Elle envoie une lettre à sa mère. = She is sending a letter to her mother.
  • Être à = to belong to
    • Ce stylo est à moi. = This pen is mine.
  • Faire attention à = to pay attention to
    • Faites attention à la marche. = Pay attention to the step.
  • Obéir à = to obey
    • Il obéit à ses parents. = He obeys his parents.
  • Parler à = to speak to
    • Il parle à son voisin. = He is speaking to his neighbour.
  • Participer à = to participate in
    • Il participe à un concours. = He is participating in a competition.
  • Penser à = to think of/about
    • Je pense à mon futur. = I am thinking about my future.
  • Plaire à = to please
    • Ce cadeau plaît à Marie. = This gift pleases Marie.
  • Prendre part à = to take part in
    • Ils prennent part à la discussion. = They are taking part in the discussion.
  • Prêter à = to lend to
    • Il a prêté de l’argent à son ami. = He lent money to his friend.
  • Raconter à = to tell (a story) to
    • Elle a raconté une histoire à ses enfants. = She told a story to her children.
  • Réfléchir à = to reflect on, to think about
    • Réfléchis à ce que tu fais. = Think about what you are doing.
  • Répondre à = to answer
    • Réponds à la question. = Answer the question.
  • Réussir à = to succeed at/in
    • Elle a réussi à son examen. = She succeeded in her exam.
  • S’habituer à = to get used to
    • Elle s’habitue à la vie en ville. = She is getting used to life in the city.
  • Se fier à = to trust
    • Tu peux te fier à lui. = You can trust him.
  • S’intéresser à = to be interested in
    • Je m’intéresse à l’histoire. = I am interested in history.
  • Tenir à + noun or pronoun = to be attached to, to care about, to value
    • Je tiens à ma liberté. = I value my freedom.
    • Elle tient beaucoup à son chien. = She is very attached to her dog.
    • Ce musée tient à sa réputation. = This museum cares about its reputation.
  • Tenir à + person = to be fond of, to have affection for
    • Il tient beaucoup à sa sœur. = He is very fond of his sister.
    • Elle tient à ses amis d’enfance. = She cares deeply for her childhood friends.
  • Tenir à + noun = “to be due to” (impersonal expression)
    • Cela tient à une erreur de calcul. = It is due to a calculation error.
    • Son succès tient à son travail acharné. = His success is due to his hard work.
  • Téléphoner à = to phone
    • J’ai téléphoné à mon frère. = I phoned my brother.
  • Toucher à = to touch, to meddle with
    • Ne touche pas à mes affaires. = Don’t touch my things.
  • Vendre à = to sell to
    • Ils ont vendu leur maison à un couple. = They sold their house to a couple.
  • Voler à = to steal from
    • Il a volé de l’argent à son père. = He stole money from his father.

Verbs followed by “à” before an infinitive

Some verbs are followed by à before another verb in the infinitive.

  • Aider à = to help to
    • Il m’a aidé à finir. = He helped me to finish.
  • Apprendre à = to learn to
    • J’apprends à conduire. = I am learning to drive.
  • Chercher à = to try to
    • Elle cherche à comprendre. = She is trying to understand.
  • Commencer à = to begin to
    • Ils commencent à travailler. = They are beginning to work.
  • Continuer à = to continue to
    • Nous continuons à parler. = We continue to speak.
  • Hésiter à = to hesitate to
    • N’hésite pas à demander. = Do not hesitate to ask.
  • Inviter à = to invite to
    • Il m’a invité à dîner. = He invited me to dinner.
  • Obliger à = to force to
    • On l’a obligé à partir. = He was forced to leave.
  • Parvenir à = to manage to, to succeed in
    • Il est parvenu à ouvrir la porte. = He managed to open the door.
    • Elle est parvenue à convaincre ses collègues. = She succeeded in convincing her colleagues.
  • Réussir à = to manage to
    • J’ai réussi à ouvrir la porte. = I managed to open the door.
  • Tarder à = to delay in, to be late in
    • Elle a tardé à répondre. = She was late in replying.
  • Tenir à = to insist on, to be eager to, to make a point of doing
    • Je tiens à vous remercier. = I wish to thank you / I insist on thanking you.
    • Il tient à finir avant midi. = He insists on finishing before noon.
    • Elle tient à participer à la réunion. = She is eager to take part in the meeting.

Summary of main points

  • Some verbs always require à before a person or thing (e.g. obéir à, téléphoner à, répondre à).
  • Some verbs always require à before an infinitive (e.g. commencer à, parvenir à, apprendre à).
  • Memorising these verbs with their preposition is essential because the preposition cannot be omitted or replaced.

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