Dêtre

Dêtre is the contracted form of de and être in French, written d’être before a vowel sound. It functions as part of a larger phrase rather than as a standalone term. In everyday French, d’être appears in constructions where the infinitive être is governed by the preposition de, often after verbs, adjectives, or nouns that require de plus an infinitive. The apostrophe is a orthographic liaison for ease of pronunciation.

In grammatical terms, d’être introduces infinitive clauses that explain purpose, cause, or relation, and it appears in expressions such as avoir peur d’être en retard (to be afraid of being late), s’inquiéter d’être pris au dépourvu (to worry about being caught off guard), or the fear of being judged. The form d’être also occurs in contexts where a noun or verb governs an infinitive de+infinitive (de + être) as a complement or object.

Philosophically and semantically, d’être is relevant because the infinitive être is tied to the broader French term être, meaning “to be,” and to the substantive être or l’être, meaning “being.” In such discourse, phrases like la notion d’être (the notion of being) and la question d’être (the question of being) are common, and they connect to ontological and existential themes explored in philosophy, particularly in relation to existence, essence, and reality.

See also: être, l’être, existence, ontologie, philosophie française.