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Elle prend soin de ses parents.

Elle prend soin de ses parents.
She takes care of her parents.
From Lesson 272:Verbs followed by de (de + infinitive)·French

Questions & Answers about Elle prend soin de ses parents.

Why is there no article before soin?
Prendre soin de (to take care of) is a fixed expression in French. Just like in English where we say to take care instead of to take a care, French drops the article before soin here.
This lesson is about verbs taking de before an infinitive. Does prendre soin de work with verbs too?
Yes! While this sentence follows de with a noun (ses parents), you can absolutely use an infinitive. For example, Elle prend soin de les appeler means She takes care to call them. The de is a permanent part of the expression in both cases.
How would I say She takes care of them using a pronoun?
You would say Elle prend soin d'eux. When an expression ends in de and is followed by people, you generally keep the de and add a stress pronoun like eux (them, masculine/mixed) or elles (them, feminine). Because parents are people, you cannot replace them with the pronoun en.
Is there a difference between prendre soin de and s'occuper de?
They are very similar and both translate to taking care of something or someone. However, prendre soin de implies a more nurturing, gentle, or medical attention (like caring for elderly parents or a delicate plant). S'occuper de is more general and means to look after or handle something, like being in charge of a work task or babysitting.

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