Thinking about Penser

By Marie-Claire Lander

Penser (to think) is a handy verb to know when it comes to sharing your thoughts or opinions. It’s also a regular -er verb, which makes it easy to use. However, the tricky part is that it requires different prepositions depending on what type of thinking is involved. So when should you use penser à versus penser de, as both translate as “to think of” in English? And what happens when penser is followed by another infinitive?

Let’s start with the most common construction: penser à + noun (to think of/about), as in penser à quelque chose/à quelqu’un (to think of something/someone). Use this construction to describe what's on your mind, what your thoughts are turning to. The singer in the video below has only one thing on his mind: his beloved. Note the use of the disjunctive pronoun after the preposition à (of):

Toutes les nuits je pense à toi

Every night I think of you

Caption 31, Alsace 20 Colonel Reyel en session live acoustique!
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Bear in mind that the preposition à takes on many forms—à, à la, aux, au—as it agrees with the noun it modifies. With feminine singular nouns, it’s quite straightforward; we simply say à la. In the example below, Caroline can’t stop penser à la cigarette (thinking about the cigarette) that she can’t have:

Puis, c'est vrai que parfois je suis irritable, parce que justement je suis en train de penser à la cigarette que je ne peux pas prendre

Then, it's true that sometimes I'm irritable, because, precisely, I'm thinking about the cigarette that I can't have

Captions 85-87, Amal et Caroline La cigarette
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Remember to make the necessary changes to à before masculine nouns, plural and singular: à + le becomes au, and à + les becomes aux.

Je pense aux Québécois... ils doivent en avoir ras le bol et ras la casquette

I think of the Quebecois... they must have a bowlful, and up to the hat [be fed up and have had it up to here]

Caption 12, Le Québec parle aux Français - Part 1
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Now that we have explored penser à, which is reserved for expressing what’s on your mind, what you're thinking about, let’s focus on penser de. Why switch to de? Because penser requires the preposition de to express an opinion. This construction usually comes in the form of a question, as it involves asking someone’s view of things. In the video below, a French person wonders what French Canadians think of his fellow countrymen:

Et puis, j'étais un petit peu stressé à l'idée de... savoir: qu'est-ce qu'ils pensent de nous ?

And then, I was a little bit stressed at the idea of... finding out, what do they think of us?

Caption 11, Le Québec parle aux Français - Part 1
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You seldom come across penser de in a declarative sentence, but it’s possible. An answer to the question mentioned in the example above might look something like this:

Vous me demandez ce que je pense des Québécois. Je ne sais pas ce que je pense de ces gens.

You’re asking what I think of Quebecois. I don’t know what I think of these people.

So far, we’ve focused on the construction penser + preposition + noun and learned that penser is followed by à to describe what you're thinking about and by de to express an opinion. Similar rules apply with infinitive verbs. Penser à + infinitive means to “consider,” “to have in mind,” or “to remember." In this trailer for La Belle et la Bête, the Beast is hoping to escape, and is warned about entertaining such a thought:

Ne pense même pas à t'échapper.

Don't even think of escaping.

Caption 27, Bande-annonce La Belle et la Bête
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Penser à + infinitive is also good to use when toying with ideas and considering possibilities. The cartoonists in this video explain how they first thought of drawing Gauls:

Nous devions faire une histoire pour le journal que nous venions de créer, et nous avons pensé à faire des Gaulois, très simplement.

We had to make a story for the publication that we had just created, and we thought of doing Gauls, very simply.

Captions 8-10, Uderzo et Goscinny 1968
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In addition, you can use penser à as an alternative to se rappeler de, “to remember” to do something or "to remind" someone to do something:

Tu devrais penser à le faire chaque fois que tu manges des choses sucrées.

You should remember to do it every time you eat something sweet.

Caption 7, Il était une fois: la vie 14. La bouche et les dents - Part 6
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Penser de + infinitive is used in the same way as with a noun: to express an opinion, or more frequently, to ask someone their opinion about doing something.

Qu'est-ce que tu penses d'aller au ciné ce soir ?

What do you think/How do you feel about going to the movies tonight?

On the other hand, the construction penser + infinitive, with no preposition in between the verbs, expresses what you’re thinking of doing, your intentions, plans, or hopes. It usually indicates a firmer course of action rather than a passing thought. In the following video, penser is translated as “hope to,” as the sense of hope is strongly implied:

...et pour lesquelles nous pensons pouvoir réaliser des offres intéressantes et compétitives.

...and to whom we hope to offer interesting and competitive prices.

Caption 16, Le Journal Opérateurs virtuels de portables
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Penser + indicative indicates an intention, however uncertain it might be. Discussing the presidential elections, Edmée and Fanny mention who they might vote for, although they have not quite decided yet:

Je pense potentiellement voter Macron, mais c'est pas sûr.

I'm thinking of potentially voting for Macron, but it's not certain.

Captions 17-18, Edmée et Fanny Les présidentielles à 20 ans
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In this example, penser + indicative conveys a stronger intention, as the speaker had actually planned to come earlier but was held up at work:

Je suis désolé. Là, je pensais venir plus tôt, mais c'était de la folie au boulot aujourd'hui.

I'm sorry. I was thinking of coming here earlier, but it was crazy at work today.

Captions 42-43, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai escroqué mon assurance ! - Part 2
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You can also use penser + infinitive to reflect on and evaluate past actions, as in penser avoir fait (thinking that [I] have done) This construction is equivalent to penser que (to think that), which is the way it usually translates in English anyway:

Je pense toujours les avoir bien éduqués.

I still think I've raised them well.

Caption 19, Alain Etoundi Allez tous vous faire enfilmer! - Part 2
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Alternatively, the speaker could have said:

Je pense que je les ai toujours bien éduqués.

I still think I've raised them well.

In conclusion, there is a lot to think about in this lesson, so here is a summary for you:

Penser à + noun: to have in mind, to think about

Penser de + noun: to think of (expressing an opinion)

Penser à + infinitive: to consider, to have in mind, to remember doing something

Penser de + infinitive: to think of/feel about doing something (expressing an opinion)

Penser + infinitive: to hope to, to plan, to intend

But there's even more à penser (to think about) than that, so stay tuned for the second part of this lesson. In the meantime, pensez à regarder beaucoup de vidéos sur Yabla (remember to watch many Yabla videos)!

Topics Grammar