A preposition may combine with a verb to form a new vocabulary item (the same verb with a new meaning). These verb-preposition combinations are discussed under several names: two-part verbs, phrasal verbs, and verb idioms.
Some verbs require the preposition à before the infinitive, such as:
aider à (to help to)
apprendre à (to learn to)
s'attendre à (to expect)
chercher à (to try to)
se décider à (to decide to)
encourager à (to encourage to)
se mettre à (to begin to)
passer du temps à (to spend some time in)
se plaire à (to like to)
suffire à (to be enough)
tenir à (to insist on)
Apprenez-moi à
parler correctement.
(Teach me to speak correctly.)
Nous tenons à ce que vous
mangiez avec nous.
(We insist you eat with us.)
Some verbs require the preposition de before the infinitive:
achever
de (to finish)
se contenter de (to be satisfied with)
se dépêcher de (to hurry to)
se garder de (to take care not to)
mériter de (to deserve to)
regretter de (to regret)
tâcher de (to try to)
se vanter de (to boast of)
venir de (to have just)
Les enfants
viennent juste de finir leur soupe.
(The children have just finished their soup.)
Je me garde
de lui dire un secret.
(I am careful not to tell him a secret.)
Certain adjectives are used as adverbs in some fixed verbal expressions:
aller
droit (to go straight ahead)
parler haut (to speak out loud)
parler bas (to speak low)
parler fort (to speak loudly)
payer cher (to pay dearly)
s'arrêter court, s'arrêter net
(to stop short)
travailler dur (to work hard)
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