French Word of the Day

to look for, to attempt to

Je cherche mon livre, parce que je cherche à finir mes devoirs.
I’m looking for my book, because I’m attempting to finish my homework.

ABOUT CHERCHER
The verb chercher reminds us of another important feature of some French verbs in relation to their English counterparts. Some English verbs that require a preposition after them — to look for, for example — are expressed without the preposition in French. In fact, it would be incorrect in French to include a preposition after chercher when using it to mean to look for.

THIS WEEK
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. This week, we’ve been looking at verbs and prepositions to see how several common verbs’ meanings can change slightly, or sometimes significantly. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

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to think, to believe in (usu. a thing or idea), to believe in (usu. a person or entity)

Je crois que nous allons. Je crois à la puissance du peuple. Je crois en toi.
I think we are going. I believe in the power of the people. I believe in you.

THIS WEEK
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. This week, we’ll look at verbs and prepositions to see how several common verbs’ meanings can change slightly, or sometimes significantly. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BENEFITS OF A VOILA! MEMBERSHIP
Join Voilà for only 3.95 per month to access online practice quizzes and our archives by subject.

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to decide to, to persuade (someone) to

J’ai décidé d’essayer de décider Paul à venir.
I decided to try to persuade Paul to come.

TONGUE TWISTER!
Today’s example is a bit of wordplay — or jeu de mots. If you can say it 10 fois rapidement (10 times quickly), you might be a French Fanatic indeed!

TODAY
In French, a verb’s meaning can change depending upon the preposition that follows it. Today, we’re looking at an example of how verbs and prepositions interact to change a verb’s meaning, sometimes significantly. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.

to try on, to try to

J’essaie la chemise. J’essaie de confectionner une chemise.
I’m trying on the shirt. I’m trying to make a shirt.

A PREPOSITION PROPOSITION
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. Today’s example shows how verbs and prepositions can get together to form entirely different ideas. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.

to be, to be (+ adjective) to do something, to belong to

Elle est fatiguée. Elle est contente de rester chez elle. La nuit est à elle.
She’s tired. She’s happy to stay at home. The night belongs to her.

PREPOSITION PROPOSITION
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. Today’s phrases are examples of how verbs and prepositions interact to change a verb’s meaning.

to miss (a thing), to miss (someone), to lack

Je ne peux pas voir Sophie, parce que j’ai manqué le train.
Elle me manque. Je manque de patience.

I’m not going to see Sophie, because I missed the train.
I miss her. I lack patience.

MORE ABOUT MANQUER
As if all the prepositions weren’t tough enough, manquer, in the sense of missing someone, is often a very difficult verb for native English speakers to master, because the word order isn’t the same as in English. In French, when we say elle me manque (or elle manque à moi), we are literally saying she is missing to me. This is simply one of those little things about the French language that must be learned. You might find it helpful to repeat the phrase to yourself several times to get the hang of thinking about it that way.

THIS WEEK
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. This week, we’ll look at verbs and prepositions to see how several common verbs’ meanings can change slightly, or sometimes significantly. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BENEFITS OF A VOILA! MEMBERSHIP
Join Voilà for only 3.95 per month to access online practice quizzes and our archives by subject.

Take our Visitors Preview to learn more.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

to forget, to forget to

J’ai oublié mes clés, et puis j’ai oublié de fermer la porte!
I forgot my keys, and then I forgot to close the door!

TODAY
In French, verbs may not always be followed by the same prepositions as their English equivalents. The verb oublier is one such example. While in English we say to forget to do something, the same idea is expressed in French by following the verb oublier with the preposition de. Click here to discover more examples of how French verbs and prepositions interact, sometimes creating meanings that are completely different from one preposition to another.

TEST YOUR SKILLS WITH PREPOSITIONS AND VERBS
Find out if you’ve mastered how to say to forget to in French and more with our Verbs and Prepositions Quiz.