Different ways of using de in French

Have you ever changed your mind in French?

If you have, you would have changed ‘of’ mind without any possessive (my, your, his, her, our or their), because the French expression is changer d’avis or changer d’idée.

This means that if you were considering going to the cinema but you changed your mind, you would say: Je pensais aller au cinéma, mais j’ai changé d’idée.

When talking about someone else, you would say: Il a changé d’avis. Not: Il a changé son avis.

The more you listen to native speakers, the more you notice instances where they slip in a de where we might use a possessive or nothing at all.

Changing what you are wearing, for example, also requires a de.

If you are someone who always likes to change out of your outfit when you come home from work, then you would say: J’aime toujours changer de tenue quand je rentre du travail.

The same is true if a person wants to change their job or profession, for which you would say il veut changer de métier, with no possessive.

In certain phrases, the de feels logical, as in elle est de bonne humeur, which we can understand as meaning that she is ‘of’ good humour or in a good mood.

However, using de with an adjective feels strange to English-speakers. If a friend is described as quelqu’un de bien, you would probably understand the expression to mean that they are a good person, although this is one of those particular expressions that you cannot translate word for word.

Similarly, the French might describe someone as quelqu’un de sérieux, which when translated literally means ‘someone of serious’, but means that this individual is conscientious or hard-working, and in real terms is one of the highest compliments you can receive from a French person.

If you ever receive this commendation, be sure to accept it with good grace (accepter de bonne grâce).