I’m thinking of you…

On By Mac

How would you translate the above phrase into French? No doubt the expressions ‘penser à’ and ‘penser de’ come to mind. But which one is right in this context, or are they interchangeable?  

‘Penser à’ and ‘penser de’ both mean ‘to think about’ or ‘to think of’ in English but they are used in slightly different grammatical contexts in French. Penser à is used to express having a thought in your head. So, if you want to say, ‘I’m thinking about the future’ you’d say ‘Je pense à l’avenir’. It expresses the cognitive act of processing a thought.

‘Penser de’ on the other hand is used to express an opinion. Because of this it is most often used in questions but can also appear in statements. If I wanted to ask you what your opinion of the future was, I would say: ‘Qu’est-ce que tu penses de l’avenir?’. Contrary to the first example, this one necessitates or implies some kind of opinion, and therefore requires penser de.

Observe the following: Qu’est-ce que tu penses de ma nouvelle voiture? In this example, penser de is used because the speaker is asking someone for their opinion on his or her new car. Penser à would be incorrect in this instance because it would suggest the speaker is merely thinking about his or her new car in his or her own head, rather than asking for someone else’s opinion.

So how would you translate the title of this post? Leave a comment below!

14 thoughts on “I’m thinking of you…”

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