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.