When a French adjective takes a complement — a noun, pronoun, or infinitive that completes its meaning — it almost always demands a specific preposition. Content takes de, prêt takes à, gentil takes avec, bon takes en or à depending on what follows. There is no general rule that predicts which preposition goes with which adjective; these pairings are largely arbitrary, fossilized over centuries. The only way to handle them is to learn the adjective and its preposition as a single unit — content-de, prêt-à, gentil-avec — and to drill the high-frequency cases until they sound automatic. This page organizes the most important pairings into groups so you can absorb them in clusters.
The general logic (or lack of it)
Before listing the pairs, a word about why this is hard. English adjectives also take prepositions — proud of, afraid of, good at, kind to — and the choices are equally arbitrary. Why is it good at math but kind to children? No reason: it is just how the language settled. French is the same way. Fier de (proud of) lines up with English, but gentil avec (kind to) does not — French uses avec (with), not à, where English uses to. Half the difficulty for English speakers is that the prepositions almost match but not quite.
Most adjectives that take a complement use de or à. A smaller set uses avec, contre, en, envers, or pour. There is a soft pattern: de is common before nouns and infinitives in general; à is common when the adjective expresses a directionality or tendency; avec is common when the complement is a person you interact with. But every soft pattern has exceptions, and you cannot predict the preposition from the adjective's meaning alone. Memorize the pair.
Adjectives of feeling: + de
A large family of adjectives expressing emotional or evaluative reactions takes de before either a noun or an infinitive. The logic, loosely, is de expressing the cause of the feeling.
Je suis content de te voir.
I'm happy to see you.
Elle est heureuse de partir en vacances.
She's happy to be going on holiday.
Il est triste de quitter ses amis.
He's sad to be leaving his friends.
Je suis désolée d'être en retard.
I'm sorry I'm late.
Mes parents sont fiers de mon frère.
My parents are proud of my brother.
Je suis sûr de moi.
I'm sure of myself.
This de family is huge. The most useful members are content de, heureux de, triste de, désolé de, fier de, sûr de, certain de, ravi de (delighted to), enchanté de (delighted to), déçu de (disappointed to), jaloux de (jealous of), fâché de (annoyed at — a thing or situation, not a person), amoureux de (in love with), responsable de (responsible for), coupable de (guilty of), conscient de (aware of).
Je suis ravie de faire ta connaissance.
I'm delighted to meet you.
Il est jaloux de son cousin depuis l'enfance.
He's been jealous of his cousin since childhood.
Tu n'es pas conscient des conséquences.
You're not aware of the consequences.
The English equivalents use a mix of prepositions — proud of, jealous of, aware of, responsible for, delighted to — but in French these all collapse into de. This is one of the rare areas where French is simpler than English.
Capable, ready, willing: + à or + de
The pair capable de / prêt à highlights the arbitrary split. Both adjectives describe a kind of readiness, but capable takes de and prêt takes à. There is no semantic reason; you just have to know.
Tu es capable de mentir sans rougir.
You're capable of lying without blushing.
Personne n'est incapable d'apprendre — il faut juste du temps.
No one is incapable of learning — it just takes time.
Je suis prêt à partir.
I'm ready to leave.
Es-tu prête à entendre la vérité ?
Are you ready to hear the truth?
The companions of prêt à form a small à family of adjectives expressing orientation toward an action: prêt à (ready to), disposé à (willing to), enclin à (inclined to), apte à (fit to / qualified to), habitué à (accustomed to), décidé à (determined to), résolu à (resolved to).
Elle n'est pas habituée au climat humide.
She's not used to the humid climate.
Je suis décidé à arrêter de fumer.
I'm determined to quit smoking.
The companions of capable de form a parallel de family expressing capacity or its absence: capable de, incapable de, susceptible de (likely to), libre de (free to), digne de (worthy of), indigne de (unworthy of).
Tu es libre de partir quand tu veux.
You're free to leave whenever you want.
C'est un livre digne d'être lu.
It's a book worth reading.
The split between prêt à and capable de is one English speakers must drill. The natural English instinct is to map both to to (ready to leave, capable of leaving), but French keeps them separate.
Comparison and identity: + de or + à
Adjectives expressing similarity, difference, or relation to something else split between de and à.
Différent takes de:
Cette version est très différente de la précédente.
This version is very different from the previous one.
Tu es différent de ton frère.
You're different from your brother.
Identique takes à:
Ton sac est identique au mien.
Your bag is identical to mine.
Le résultat est identique à celui de l'année dernière.
The result is identical to last year's.
Pareil (similar, same) takes à:
Tu es pareille à ta mère.
You're just like your mother.
Semblable (similar) also takes à:
Sa réaction est semblable à la mienne.
His reaction is similar to mine.
Inférieur, supérieur, antérieur, postérieur (inferior, superior, prior, subsequent) all take à:
Cette version est inférieure à l'originale.
This version is inferior to the original.
Le confort est supérieur à celui de la classe économique.
The comfort is superior to that of economy class.
The pattern here is mostly à, with différent as the conspicuous exception. Note that de in différent de corresponds to English from (different from) — a lone case where French and English agree. The à family corresponds to English to (identical to, similar to, superior to).
Distance: + de
Adjectives of physical or metaphorical distance take de.
L'hôtel est proche de la gare.
The hotel is near the station.
Mon village est loin de Paris.
My village is far from Paris.
Sa maison est éloignée du centre-ville.
Her house is far from the city centre.
Cette idée est étrangère à notre culture.
This idea is foreign to our culture.
Notice the last one: étranger (foreign, alien) takes à, not de, even though it expresses a kind of distance. Once again, no clean rule — just memorize.
Quantity and content: + de
Adjectives describing what something is full of, filled with, or composed of take de.
Cette pièce est pleine de monde.
This room is full of people.
Le verre est rempli d'eau.
The glass is filled with water.
Le jardin est couvert de neige.
The garden is covered with snow.
C'est un repas plein de saveurs.
It's a meal full of flavours.
Mon discours est rempli de regrets.
My speech is full of regrets.
This plein de, rempli de, couvert de family is straightforward and matches English full of, filled with, covered with almost perfectly. The only oddity is that English varies the preposition (of, with, with) while French keeps de.
A close cousin: vide de (empty of), dépourvu de (devoid of), privé de (deprived of), exempt de (exempt from). These all take de on the same logic.
Une vie privée de sens.
A life devoid of meaning.
Un texte exempt de fautes.
A text free of errors.
Toward people: + avec, + contre, + envers
When the complement is a person you interact with, French splits between avec (kind to, mean to), contre (angry with, furious with), and the literary envers (toward).
Gentil avec, sympathique avec, aimable avec, méchant avec, patient avec, strict avec — the avec family covers attitudes you have toward someone:
Elle est très gentille avec les enfants.
She's very kind to children.
Tu es méchant avec ta sœur.
You're being mean to your sister.
Le professeur est strict avec ses élèves.
The teacher is strict with his students.
This is a major English-to-French transfer trap. English says kind to, mean to, patient with. French uses avec across the board, regardless of whether English would use to or with. The English instinct to translate to as à fails here — gentil à is wrong.
Fâché contre, furieux contre, en colère contre — the contre family covers anger directed at a person:
Je suis fâchée contre mon frère.
I'm angry with my brother.
Elle est furieuse contre lui.
She's furious with him.
On est tous en colère contre cette décision.
We're all angry about this decision.
The literal sense of contre is against — when you're angry with someone, French sees it as a directed hostility. English uses with or at indiscriminately; French is more visual.
Envers (formal, slightly old-fashioned) replaces avec in elevated contexts:
Il a toujours été loyal envers ses amis.
He's always been loyal to his friends.
Notre attitude envers les nouveaux arrivants doit changer.
Our attitude toward newcomers must change.
In everyday speech you would more often hear envers replaced by avec or à l'égard de. Reserve envers for written or formal use.
Skills and domains: + en, + à, + pour
The cluster bon en / mauvais en describes skill in a school subject or domain:
Mon fils est bon en maths mais nul en français.
My son is good at maths but hopeless at French.
Je suis mauvaise en sport.
I'm bad at sports.
Elle est forte en histoire.
She's good at history.
The en here introduces a domain or subject, like English good at chemistry, bad at maths. Bon à with an infinitive instead means good for doing something:
Cet outil est bon à jeter.
This tool is fit to be thrown out.
Une histoire bonne à raconter.
A story worth telling.
A separate use, bon pour + noun, means good for in the sense of beneficial to:
Le sport est bon pour la santé.
Sport is good for your health.
Ce n'est pas bon pour les enfants.
It's not good for children.
Three constructions, three meanings: bon en maths (skilled at maths), bon à manger (fit to eat), bon pour la santé (beneficial for health). Each has its own preposition; do not collapse them.
Adjective + à + infinitive: passive sense
A separate construction worth flagging: adjective + à + infinitive often gives an infinitive with passive meaning.
Ce livre est facile à lire.
This book is easy to read.
Ce problème est difficile à résoudre.
This problem is difficult to solve.
C'est une vérité dure à entendre.
It's a hard truth to hear.
Une chose impossible à oublier.
An impossible thing to forget.
In facile à lire, the book is the thing being read — the infinitive has a passive interpretation. The same pattern applies to facile, difficile, dur, aisé, impossible, and a few others. The construction extends to people only with the same passive logic: il est difficile à comprendre means he is hard to understand (he is the one being understood). More natural in everyday speech is the active rephrase on a du mal à le comprendre (we have trouble understanding him).
Common Mistakes
❌ Je suis content à te voir.
Incorrect — *content* takes *de*, not *à*: *content de te voir*.
✅ Je suis content de te voir.
I'm happy to see you.
❌ Tu es gentille à moi.
Incorrect — adjectives describing attitude toward a person take *avec*, not *à*: *gentille avec moi*.
✅ Tu es gentille avec moi.
You're kind to me.
❌ Elle est fâchée avec son frère.
Incorrect — anger toward a person takes *contre*: *fâchée contre son frère*. *Fâchée avec* exists but means *on bad terms with*, a very different sense.
✅ Elle est fâchée contre son frère.
She's angry with her brother.
❌ Je suis prêt de partir.
Incorrect — *prêt* takes *à*, not *de*: *prêt à partir*. *Près de partir* exists but means *about to leave* (with *près*, near, not *prêt*, ready).
✅ Je suis prêt à partir.
I'm ready to leave.
❌ Il est différent à son frère.
Incorrect — *différent* takes *de*: *différent de son frère*. (English *different from* matches French *différent de*.)
✅ Il est différent de son frère.
He's different from his brother.
❌ Mon fils est bon à maths.
Incorrect — for school subjects use *en*: *bon en maths*. *Bon à* with an infinitive means *fit to* (do something).
✅ Mon fils est bon en maths.
My son is good at maths.
❌ Cet exercice est facile de comprendre.
Incorrect — adjectives like *facile, difficile, dur* + infinitive take *à*: *facile à comprendre*. *De* appears in the impersonal construction *il est facile de comprendre* (it is easy to understand).
✅ Cet exercice est facile à comprendre.
This exercise is easy to understand.
The last mistake is worth lingering on. There are two facile-constructions:
- Cet exercice est facile à comprendre — adjective applies to a noun, infinitive has passive sense, preposition is à.
- Il est facile de comprendre cet exercice — impersonal il, infinitive has active sense, preposition is de.
Both are correct, but they belong to different sentence patterns. Confusing them — saying cet exercice est facile de comprendre — is one of the most common errors in B2 written work.
Key takeaways
- Most French adjectives demand a specific preposition; the choice is largely arbitrary and must be memorized as part of the adjective's entry.
- De-adjectives: feelings (content, heureux, triste, fier, désolé, sûr, jaloux, amoureux), capacity (capable, incapable, digne, libre), distance (proche, loin, éloigné), content (plein, rempli, couvert), comparison (différent).
- À-adjectives: orientation toward action (prêt, disposé, décidé, habitué), comparison (identique, pareil, semblable, inférieur, supérieur), passive infinitive (facile à, difficile à).
- Avec-adjectives: attitudes toward people (gentil, méchant, patient, strict, aimable).
- Contre-adjectives: anger toward people (fâché, furieux, en colère).
- En-adjectives: skill in a domain (bon en, mauvais en, fort en, nul en).
- The English instinct to translate to as à fails for attitudes toward people — French uses avec. The instinct to translate with as avec also fails for anger — French uses contre.
- When the structure is impersonal il est X, the preposition flips to de: il est facile de comprendre vs cet exercice est facile à comprendre.
Now practice French
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