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Many conjugated verbs in French can be followed directly by infinitives.
| Nous venons livrer l'armoire. |
| We've come to deliver the wardrobe. |
| Je vais la peindre. |
| I'm going to paint it. |
| Je ne peux pas sortir ce soir. |
| I cannot go out tonight. |
Other verbs require the prepositions à or de before the infinitive.
| Ils ont oublié de téléphoner. |
| They forgot to call. |
| J'ai commencé à travailler. |
| I began to work. |
| Nous avons envie de voyager. |
| We feel like traveling. |
Here is a list of common verbs that take infinitives:
NO PREPOSITION REQUIRED
| aller |
to go (future) |
| vouloir |
to want to, wish |
| pouvoir |
to be able to, can |
| savoir |
to know |
| venir |
to come |
| détester |
to hate |
| aimer |
to love, like |
| préférer |
to prefer |
| devoir |
to have to, must |
| penser |
to think |
| espérer |
to hope |
| il faut |
it is necessary |
| il vaut mieux |
it is better |
EXAMPLES
| Je vais travailler cet après-midi. |
| I'm going to work this afternoon. |
| Veux-tu m'aider? |
| Do you want to help me? |
| Pourriez-vous ouvrir la fenêtre? |
| Could you open the window? |
| Je sais programmer. |
| I know how to program. |
DE REQUIRED
| venir de |
to have just |
| essayer de |
to try to |
| refuser de |
to refuse to |
| avoir peur de |
to be afraid of |
| avoir envie de |
to feel like |
| avoir besoin de |
to need to |
| oublier de |
to forget to |
| être obligé de |
to be obliged to |
| être en train de |
to be in the process of |
| Il vient d'arriver. |
| He has just arriverd. |
| Martine essaie d'organiser un pique-nique. |
| Martine is trying to organize a picnic. |
| J'ai envie d'aller à la plage. |
| I feel like going to the beach. |
À REQUIRED
| à |
to start to |
| continuer à |
to continue to* |
| Il commence à pleuvoir. |
| It's beginning to rain. |
| Il continue à parler. |
| He continues to speak. |
*In written French you may very well see de used instead of à.
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