Verbs whose preposition changes the meaning · French grammar B2

Contents · B2

In this part, you will learn about verbs whose meaning changes with the preposition that follows them.

The construction of some verbs, and sometimes their meaning, changes with the preposition: à or de.

Le médecin l’a obligé à arrêter de fumer.The doctor made him stop smoking.
Nous sommes obligés de prendre un taxi.We have to take a taxi.
Que pensez-vous de notre proposition ?What do you think of our proposal?
Ma famille me manque beaucoup.I miss my family a lot.
Cette vieille boîte sert de table de nuit.This old box is used as a bedside table.

Formation

Obliger quelqu’un à + infinitive means “to force someone to”, and s’obliger à means “to make oneself do”. In the passive, être obligé de + infinitive means “to have to”.
Penser à means “to think about, to have in mind”, and penser de means “to have an opinion of”.
Manquer à means “to be missed by”, and manquer de means “to lack”.
Servir à means “to be used for”, and servir de means “to be used as”.

Verb	Meaning	Example
obliger quelqu’un à	to force someone to	La pluie nous a obligés à rentrer.
être obligé de	to have to	Je suis obligé de partir.
s’obliger à	to make oneself	Je m’oblige à lire un peu chaque soir.
penser à	to think about	Je pense à mes vacances.
penser de	to think of (an opinion)	Que penses-tu de ce film ?
manquer à	to be missed by	Mes amis me manquent.
manquer de	to lack	Notre équipe manque d’expérience.
servir à	to be used for	Cette clé sert à ouvrir la cave.
servir de	to be used as	Le salon sert de bureau.

Use

Penser de gives or asks an opinion, most often in a question with que: Que penses-tu de mon idée ? (“What do you think of my idea?”)
Penser à + a person takes a stressed pronoun: je pense à elle (“I’m thinking of her”). Penser à + a thing takes y: j’y pense (“I’m thinking about it”).
With manquer à, the person or thing missed is the subject: Tu me manques (“I miss you”), Paris lui manque (“He misses Paris”). The person who misses is the indirect object (me, lui).

Difference from English

English “think of” covers both the thought (penser à) and the opinion (penser de): Je pense à toi. (“I’m thinking of you.”)
English “have to” is devoir or être obligé de, the latter stressing a constraint: Je suis obligé de travailler. (“I have to work.”)

Common mistakes

~~Je suis obligé à partir.~~ → Je suis obligé de partir.Être obligé is followed by de.
~~Je manque mes amis.~~ → Mes amis me manquent.For a person or a place you long for, the people missed are the subject of manquer à. Manquer + a direct object is “to miss” a train or a chance.
~~Qu’est-ce que tu penses à ce livre ?~~ → Qu’est-ce que tu penses de ce livre ?An opinion is asked with penser de.

Remember

Use être obligé de + infinitive for “to have to”: Je suis obligé de rentrer. (“I have to go home.”)
Ask an opinion with penser de: Que penses-tu de ce restaurant ? (“What do you think of this restaurant?”)
Make the person missed the subject of manquer à: Ma sœur me manque. (“I miss my sister.”)

You now know how the meaning of obliger, penser, manquer and servir changes with à or de.

“Verbs whose preposition changes the meaning”, Two meanings: obliger à, être obligé de

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