Definition: De is a very important and versatile preposition with many different meanings and uses in French.

As a preposition, it can express or indicate all of the following:

1. Possession or belonging

e.g: le livre de Carlos Carlos's book

la bibliothèque de l'université -the university library

2. Starting point or origin

e.g: partir de Nice to leave from (out of) Nice

Je suis de Bruxelles -I'm from Brussels

3. Contents / description of something

e.g: une tasse de thé cup of tea

un roman d'amour -love story (story of/about love)

4. Defining a feature

e.g: le marché de gros wholesale market

une salle de classe -classroom

5. Cause

e.g: mourir de faim to die of / from hunger

fatigué du voyage tired from the trip

6. Means / manner of doing something

e.g: écrire de la main gauche - to write with one's left hand

répéter de mémoire - to recite from memory

When followed by
the definite articles
le and les, de
contracts with
them into a single
word:
For example,
de + le = du du salon
de + les = des des villes
But de does not
contract with la or
l'
de + la = de la de la femme
de + l' = de l' de l'homme
After Certain Verbs, Phrases Followed by an Infinitive
The French preposition de is required after certain verbs and phrases when they are
followed by an infinitive. Note that the English translation may take an infinitive (to
agree to do something) or a gerund (to be afraid of flying).
 accepter de > to accept, agree to
 achever de > to finish
 accuser (quelqu'un) de > to accuse (someone) of
 s'agir de > to be a question of
 (s')arrêter de > to stop
 avertir (quelq’un) de (ne pas) > to warn (someone) (not) to
 avoir peur de > to be afraid of
 blâmer (quelq’un) de > to blame (someone) for
 cesser de > to stop, cease
 choisir de > to choose to
 commander (à quelq’un) de > to order (someone) to
 conseiller de > to advise to
 se contenter de > to be happy
 continuer de > to continue
 convenir de > to agree to
 craindre de > to fear
 décider de > to decide to
 défendre (à quelqu'un) de > to forbid (someone) to do (something)
 demander (à quelqu'un) de > to ask (someone) to do something
 se dépêcher de > to hurry to
 déranger quelqu'un de > to bother someone to
 dire (à quelqu'un) de > to tell (someone) to do something
 s'efforcer de > to endeavor to
 empêcher de > to prevent, keep from
 s'empresser de > to hurry to
 ennuyer quelqu'un de > to bother/upset someone to
 essayer de > to try to
 s'excuser de > to apologize for
 féliciter de > to congratulate for
 finir de > to finish
 gronder de > to scold for
 se hâter de > to hurry to
 manquer de > to neglect, fail to
 mériter de > to deserve to
 offrir de > to offer to
 oublier de > to forget to
 (se) permettre de > to allow (oneself) to
 persuader de > to persuade to
 prendre garde de > to be careful not to
 prendre le parti de > to decide to
 se presser de > to hurry to
 prier de > to beg to
 promettre de > to promise to
 proposer de > to suggest
 refuser de > to refuse to
 regretter de > to regret
 remercier de > to thank for
 rêver de > to dream of
 risquer de > to risk
 se soucier de > to care about
 se souvenir de > to remember
 supplier de > to be / beseech
 tâcher de > to try to
 venir de (faire quelque chose) > to have just (done something)
 s'agir de > to be a question of
 s'approcher de > to approach
 s'apercevoir de > to notice
 arriver de (Paris, Canada) > to arrive from (Paris, Canada)
 avoir besoin de > to need
 avoir envie de > to want
 changer de (train) > to change (trains)
 dépendre de > to depend on
 douter de > to doubt
 s'emparer de > to grab
 s'étonner de > to be amazed by
 féliciter de > to congratulate
 hériter de > to inherit
 jouer de > to play (an instrument)
 jouir de > to enjoy
 manquer de > to lack
 se méfier de > to distrust, beware of
 se moquer de > to make fun of
 s'occuper de > to be busy with
 partir de > to leave
 se passer de > to do without
 penser de > to have an opinion about
 se plaindre de > to complain about
 profiter de > to make the most of
 punir de > to punish for
 recompenser de > to reward for
 remercier de > to thank
 se rendre compte de > to realize
 rire de > to laugh at
 servir de > to put to use as
 se servir de > to use
 se soucier de > to care about
 se souvenir de > to remember
 tenir de > to take after, resemble
 se tromper de > to mistake
 vivre de > to live on