The preposition changes the meaning
penser
àdeno preposition
The constructions
àpenser à quelqu'un ou à quelque chose
Meaning : to think of, to have in mind
Je pense à toi.
Do not writeJe pense de toi.
depenser de quelqu'un ou de quelque chose
Meaning : to have an opinion of
Qu'est-ce que tu penses de ce film ?
no prepositionpenser + infinitif
Meaning : to intend to do
Je pense partir en juin.
Why
Penser à is to have in mind: penser à ses parents, penser à fermer la porte. Penser de is to judge, almost always in a question: que penses-tu de ce livre? Before an infinitive with no preposition, penser means to intend. Three constructions, three meanings.
The trap for a Chinese speaker
想 covers all three meanings in Chinese. French separates them by the preposition: 想念 is penser à, 覺得 is penser de, 打算 is penser + infinitive.
Read the full lesson : The pronouns y and en →