Marie rêve souvent de la mer.

Marie often dreams of the sea.

Breakdown of Marie rêve souvent de la mer.

• Marie: Marie
• souvent: often
• de: of
• la mer: the sea

Questions & Answers about Marie rêve souvent de la mer.

Why is it rêve souvent de la mer and not just rêve la mer or rêve sur la mer?

In French, the verb rêver meaning to dream (about something) normally takes the preposition de:

• rêver de quelque chose = to dream about/of something
  
  • Je rêve de vacances. = I dream of holidays.
  • Elle rêve de la mer. = She dreams of the sea.

Rêver la mer would sound wrong in everyday modern French in this meaning.
Rêver sur la mer would mean to dream on the sea (for example, if you’re sleeping on a boat), which is different.

So to say dream about the sea, you pretty much have to say rêver de la mer.

What’s the difference between rêver de and rêver à?