The requirement for certain French verbs to be followed by “de” is largely based on historical language development and convention. This preposition often indicates a relationship of origin, separation, or source between the verb and what follows it.

42 most used French verbs requiring “de”:

1. Avoir besoin de (to need)
   • J’ai besoin d’aide. (I need help.)
   • J’en ai besoin. (I need it.)
2. Décider de (to decide)
   • Il a décidé de partir. (He decided to leave.)
   • Il l’a décidé. (He decided it.)
3. Essayer de (to try)
   • Elle essaie de comprendre. (She tries to understand.)
   • Elle l’essaie. (She tries it.)
4. Se souvenir de (to remember)
   • Je me souviens de cette journée. (I remember that day.)
   • Je m’en souviens. (I remember it.)
5. Parler de (to talk about)
   • Nous parlons de nos vacances. (We talk about our vacation.)
   • Nous en parlons. (We talk about it.)
6. S’occuper de (to take care of)
   • Tu t’occupes des enfants. (You take care of the children.)
   • Tu t’en occupes. (You take care of them.)
7. Profiter de (to take advantage of)
   • Ils profitent du beau temps. (They take advantage of the nice weather.)
   • Ils en profitent. (They take advantage of it.)
8. Manquer de (to lack)
   • Elle manque de patience. (She lacks patience.)
   • Elle en manque. (She lacks it.)
9. Rêver de (to dream of)
   • Je rêve de voyager. (I dream of traveling.)
   • J’en rêve. (I dream of it.)
10. Douter de (to doubt)
    • Il doute de la vérité. (He doubts the truth.)
    • Il en doute. (He doubts it.)
11. Remercier de (to thank for)
    • Je te remercie de ton aide. (I thank you for your help.)
    • Je t’en remercie. (I thank you for it.)
12. S’approcher de (to approach)
    • Il s’approche de la maison. (He approaches the house.)
    • Il s’en approche. (He approaches it.)
13. Se méfier de (to be wary of)
    • Elle se méfie des étrangers. (She is wary of strangers.)
    • Elle s’en méfie. (She is wary of them.)
14. Dépendre de (to depend on)
    • Tout dépend de la météo. (Everything depends on the weather.)
    • Tout en dépend. (Everything depends on it.)
15. Se passer de (to do without)
    • Je peux me passer de sucre. (I can do without sugar.)
    • Je peux m’en passer. (I can do without it.)
16. S’agir de (to be about)
    • Il s’agit de mon avenir. (It’s about my future.)
    • Il s’agit de cela. (It’s about it.)
17. Se servir de (to use)
    • Il se sert d’un couteau. (He uses a knife.)
    • Il s’en sert. (He uses it.)
18. Finir de (to finish)
    • Elle finit de manger. (She finishes eating.)
    • Elle le finit. (She finishes it.)
19. Changer de (to change)
    • Nous changeons de direction. (We change direction.)
    • Nous le changeons. (We change it.)
20. Se plaindre de (to complain about)
    • Ils se plaignent du bruit. (They complain about the noise.)
    • Ils s’en plaignent. (They complain about it.)
21. Arrêter de (to stop)
    • Il arrête de fumer. (He stops smoking.)
    • Il arrête de le faire. (He stops doing it.)
22. Se souvenir de (to remember)
    • Elle se souvient de son enfance. (She remembers her childhood.)
    • Elle s’en souvient. (She remembers it.)
23. Accepter de (to accept to)
    • Ils acceptent de participer. (They accept to participate.)
    • Ils acceptent de le faire. (They accept to do it.)
24. Refuser de (to refuse to)
    • Je refuse d’obéir. (I refuse to obey.)
    • Je refuse de le faire. (I refuse to do it.)
25. Cesser de (to cease)
    • La pluie cesse de tomber. (The rain ceases to fall.)
    • Il le cesse. (He ceases it.)
26. Promettre de (to promise to)
    • Il promet de revenir. (He promises to return.)
    • Il promet de le faire. (He promises to do it.)
27. Oublier de (to forget to)
    • Tu oublies de fermer la porte. (You forget to close the door.)
    • Tu oublies de le faire. (You forget to do it.)
28. Venir de (to have just/to come from)
    • Je viens de Paris. (I come from Paris.)
    • Je viens de là-bas. (I come from there.)
      BUT for temporal use:
    • Je viens de manger. (I have just eaten.)
    • No pronoun replacement possible for this usage
29. Craindre de (to fear)
    • Elle craint de perdre. (She fears losing.)
    • Elle craint de le faire. (She fears doing it.)
30. Se rappeler de (to recall)
    • Il se rappelle de cette histoire. (He recalls this story.)
    • Il s’en rappelle. (He recalls it.)
31. Risquer de (to risk)
    • Nous risquons de rater le train. (We risk missing the train.)
    • Nous risquons de le faire. (We risk doing it.)
32. Tenter de (to attempt)
    • Ils tentent de résoudre le problème. (They attempt to solve the problem.)
    • Ils tentent de le faire. (They attempt to do it.)
33. S’efforcer de (to strive to)
    • Je m’efforce de comprendre. (I strive to understand.)
    • Je m’efforce de le faire. (I strive to do it.)
34. Se charger de (to take charge of)
    • Elle se charge du projet. (She takes charge of the project.)
    • Elle s’en charge. (She takes charge of it.)
35. Profiter de (to take advantage of)
    • Tu profites de l’occasion. (You take advantage of the opportunity.)
    • Tu en profites. (You take advantage of it.)
36. Se contenter de (to be content with)
    • Ils se contentent de peu. (They are content with little.)
    • Ils s’en contentent. (They are content with it.)
37. Hériter de (to inherit)
    • Elle hérite de la maison. (She inherits the house.)
    • Elle en hérite. (She inherits it.)
38. Disposer de (to have at one’s disposal)
    • Nous disposons de temps. (We have time at our disposal.)
    • Nous en disposons. (We have it at our disposal.)
39. S’inquiéter de (to worry about)
    • Je m’inquiète de son absence. (I worry about his absence.)
    • Je m’en inquiète. (I worry about it.)
40. Provenir de (to come from)
    • Cette odeur provient de la cuisine. (This smell comes from the kitchen.)
    • Elle en provient. (It comes from there.)
41. Demander de (to ask someone to)
    • Je lui demande de le faire (I ask him to do it)
    • Pierre demande à Marie d’aller au magasin (Pierre asks Marie to go to the shop)
42. Dire de (to tell someone to)
    • Nous leur disons d’arrêter de parler (We tell them to stop talking)
    • Je lui dis de ne pas s’inquiéter (I tell her not to worry)

General Rule:

The pronoun “en” typically replaces “de + noun” but not “de + infinitive.” This is a crucial distinction in French grammar. Here’s how it works:

1. When “de” is followed by a noun:
   • Je parle de mon travail → J’en parle
   • Il s’occupe des enfants → Il s’en occupe
   • Elle a besoin d’argent → Elle en a besoin
2. When “de” is followed by an infinitive:
   • Je refuse de partir → Je refuse de le faire
   • Il essaie de comprendre → Il essaie de le faire
   • Elle promet de venir → Elle promet de le faire
3. Verbs that consistently and correctly use “en” typically involve:
   • Speaking about something (parler de → en parler)
   • Remembering something (se souvenir de → s’en souvenir)
   • Taking care of something (s’occuper de → s’en occuper)
   • Needing something (avoir besoin de → en avoir besoin)
   • Being wary of something (se méfier de → s’en méfier)
   • Coming from somewhere (provenir de → en provenir)
   • Being satisfied with something (se contenter de → s’en contenter)
   • Having something at one’s disposal (disposer de → en disposer)

This distinction helps maintain clarity in French expression and follows the logical structure of the language, where “en” primarily represents a noun complement rather than an action.

Why Some Verbs Require “de”

The requirement for certain verbs to be followed by “de” stems from several factors:

1. Historical Evolution: Many of these constructions evolved from Latin, where similar prepositions were used to indicate source or origin.
2. Semantic Relationship: “De” often implies a relationship of source, origin, or separation between the verb and its object.
3. Grammar Convention: Over time, these constructions became fixed in French grammar, much like how certain English verbs require specific prepositions (e.g., “to consist of,” “to depend on”).
4. Meaning Distinction: In some cases, the preposition helps distinguish between different meanings of the same verb (e.g., “penser à” means “to think about” while “penser de” means “to have an opinion about”).