🇫🇷 Lesson 6: Régime Prépositionnel & Collocations

At C1 your errors change species. The grammar is right; the combinations are not. You write faire une décision, très intéressé sur, un grand manque de — every word correct, no sentence quite French. This is the level where you stop learning words and start learning which words hold hands.

B1 lesson 9 sorted out verbs followed by à, de or a bare infinitive. This lesson does the rest: adjectives and nouns that govern a preposition, the light verbs that go with particular nouns, and the fixed prepositional phrases that must be stored whole.

🔧 Adjectives That Own a Preposition

Never learn one of these bare. Sensible is not a word you know until you know it is sensible à.

FrenchPronunciationMeaning
sensible àsahn-SEEBL ahsensitive to, responsive to
propice àpro-PEES ahfavourable to
conforme àkohn-FORM ahin accordance with
enclin àahn-KLAN ahinclined to
apte àAHPT ahfit for, able to
avide deah-VEED duheager for, greedy for
dénué deday-nü-AY duhdevoid of
digne deDEE-nyuh duhworthy of
soucieux desoo-SYUH duhconcerned to, anxious to
coupable dekoo-PAHBL duhguilty of
indifférent àan-dee-fay-RAHN ahindifferent to
lié àlee-AY ahlinked to

⚠️ The English pull

Interested in → intéressé par. Dependent on → dépendant de. Responsible for → responsable de. Similar to → semblable à. When the English preposition is in, on or for, stop and check — those are where the interference lives.

🔨 Light Verbs: Which Verb Goes With Which Noun

English says make a decision. French does not faire a decision; it prend one. These pairings are arbitrary and must be learned as units.

FrenchPronunciationMeaning
prendre une décisionprahndr ün day-see-ZYOHNto make a decision
prendre la paroleprahndr lah pah-ROLto take the floor
pousser un cripoo-say uhn KREEto let out a cry
tirer une conclusiontee-ray ün kohn-klü-ZYOHNto draw a conclusion
mener une enquêtemuh-nay ün ahn-KETto conduct an investigation
porter plaintepor-tay PLANTto file a complaint
poser une questionpo-zay ün kes-TYOHNto ask a question
combler un retardkohn-blay uhn ruh-TARto make up a delay
remporter une victoirerahn-por-tay ün veek-TWAHRto win a victory
subir une défaitesü-beer ün day-FETto suffer a defeat
nourrir un espoirnoo-reer uhn es-PWAHRto cherish a hope
éprouver une difficultéay-proo-vay ün dee-fee-kül-TAYto experience a difficulty

🧊 Fixed Prepositional Phrases

These are single units. Do not try to build them from their parts, and do not vary the article inside them.

FrenchPronunciationMeaning
par le biais depar luh BYAY duhby means of, through
au détriment deoh day-tree-mahn duhto the detriment of
à l’égard deah lay-GAR duhwith regard to, towards
en dépit deahn day-PEE duhin spite of
au terme deoh TAIRM duhat the end of
à l’issue deah lee-SÜ duhat the conclusion of
faute deFOHT duhfor want of
à défaut deah day-FOH duhfailing, in the absence of
en vertu deahn vair-TÜ duhby virtue of, under (a law)
au regard deoh ruh-GAR duhin the light of

💪 Intensity Is Lexical, Not Adverbial

A B2 learner intensifies with très and beaucoup. French intensifies by choosing a different word — and the choice is collocational, so the adjectives are not interchangeable.

WeakWhat French actually says
un très grand manque deun cruel manque de
une très grande déceptionune profonde déception
une très grande erreurune erreur grossière
un très grand succèsun succès retentissant
un très grand silenceun silence de plomb
très différentradicalement différent
très nécessaireabsolument indispensable
très richerichissime / cousu d’or

🎯 À, en, dans, par, pour — the Residual Cases

ContrastRule of thumb
en France / au Japon / à Parisen + feminine country, au + masculine, à + city
en deux heures / dans deux heuresen = duration taken; dans = time from now
en voiture / à véloen if you sit inside it, à if you sit on it
par curiosité / pour la gloirepar = motive; pour = goal
commencer par / commencer àpar + noun = start with; à + inf. = begin to
penser à / penser deà = have in mind; de = have an opinion on
manquer à / manquer deà = be missed by; de = lack

💡 How to use a dictionary at C1

Stop reading the translation and read the construction. A good French dictionary prints se soucier de qqch, veiller à ce que + subj., persuader qqn de faire. Copy the whole pattern into your notes, with a placeholder, not just the headword. One pattern learned properly beats five words half-known.

🇫🇷 France

Metropolitan French has been drifting on a few of these: pallier à (prescriptively pallier qqch) and se rappeler de (prescriptively se rappeler qqch) are now extremely common in speech and still corrected in writing. Par contre was long condemned in favour of en revanche and has effectively won. Journalistic French is also a factory of new fixed phrases — sur fond de, à l'aune de, au regard de — worth collecting from the press.

🇨🇦 Canada

Québécois collocations show English pressure in places France does not: prendre une décision is standard in both, but Québec has had to fight calques such as rencontrer une date limite (from meet a deadline; correct French is respecter) and être supposé de. The OQLF's Banque de dépannage linguistique is the reference tool here, and it is excellent on exactly this class of error — worth bookmarking even if you learn French French.

✍️ Practice

Exercise 1 — Which preposition?

  1. Il est très sensible _____ la critique. (Answer: à|a)
  2. Ce texte n’est pas conforme _____ la norme. (Answer: à|a)
  3. Elle est avide _____ reconnaissance. (Answer: de)
  4. Je suis intéressé _____ votre proposition. (Answer: par)
  5. Ce raisonnement est dénué _____ fondement. (Answer: de)
  6. Tout cela est lié _____ la crise. (Answer: à|a)

Exercise 2 — The right light verb

Use prendre · pousser · tirer · mener · porter · poser.

Exercise 3 — Fixed phrases

  1. Nous avons obtenu l’accord par le _____ de son avocat. (Answer: biais)
  2. Il a réussi, mais au _____ de sa santé. (Answer: détriment|detriment)
  3. Sa position à l’_____ de ce projet reste floue. (Answer: égard|egard)
  4. _____ dépit de nos efforts, le résultat est mauvais. (Answer: en)
  5. En _____ de l’article 4, le contrat est nul. (Answer: vertu)

Exercise 4 — Intensify like a native

Replace très grand(e) with the collocating adjective.

🧠 Check Your Understanding

1. Why is faire une décision wrong?

2. Je finirai le travail en deux heures versus dans deux heures:

3. The best way to record se soucier in your notes is: