In this post, our e-Tutor Sev completes his tips on French verbs and their prepositions. You can read the first to parts to this post here: Part I and Part II
An important special case is the verb penser. It can be used with (mostly) the prepositions à or de, without a preposition, or followed by an infinitive:
- Je pense beaucoup. (I think a lot)
- Je pense faire des crêpes. (I’m thinking of doing crepes)
- Je pense à mes vacances. (I’m thinking about my holidays)
- Que penses-tu de ce film ? (What do you think of this movie)
The problems arise when using pronouns with penser:
1) With à (remember, it could be in the form au (à+le) or aux (à+les))
a) with persons -> Use what is called disjunctive object pronouns but keep ‘à’, unlike other verbs (see example below):
Ex: Tu penses à ta mère ? -> Oui, je pense à elle. (not: je lui pense) (You think about your mother? Yes I think about her)
With other verbs, use indirect object pronouns placed before the verb:
Ex: Tu as demandé à ta mère ? -> Oui, je lui ai demandé. (Did you ask your mother? Yes, I asked her)
b) with objects -> use the pronoun y:
Ex: Tu penses à tes vacances ? -> Oui, j’y pense.
2) With de (remember, it could be in the form du (de+le) or des (de+les))
Here, simply use the pronoun en:
Ex: Qu’est que tu penses du film ? (What do you think of the movie?) -> Qu’est-ce que j’en pense ? Eh bien… (What do I think of it? Well…)
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