Merci de / pour = Thank you for in French
In French, to express thank you for, you will use merci followed by either de or pour.
Using "merci de" or "merci pour" in French
Here are the different cases:
Merci de/pour [quelque chose] = Thank you for [something]
Merci pour votre compréhension.Thank you for your understanding.
Merci de votre compréhension.Thank you for your understanding.
Merci pour le cadeau.Thank you for the gift.
Merci pour le repas.Thank you for the meal.
To express thank you for + [noun], you can use either merci de or merci pour + [nom], although:
- either de or pour is colloquial with abstract nouns (votre compréhension, patience, gentillesse...), with merci de being a bit more elegant.
- merci pour is the one you use with actual things (le cadeau, la carte...)
- merci pour is the one you use with actual things (le cadeau, la carte...)
By the way, the expression Merci du cadeau ! is sarcastic in French = What a gift! / Talk about a gift!
Merci de [faire quelque chose] = Please [do something] / Thank you for [doing something]
In French, you can use merci de + [infinitif] to express Please + [do something] in a formal/professional context.
Merci de patienter.Please wait.
Merci d'écouter ce qui suit.Please listen to what follows.
J'ai vraiment du mal, merci de m'aider.I'm really struggling, please help me.
Merci de ne pas parler pendant la présentation.Please do not speak during the presentation.
After a preposition (here de), ne pas both come before the infinitive.
ATTENTION :
To express Thank you for + [do-ing] - when you're thanking the person for an action already done - you will use Merci de + [Infinitif Passé] :
C'était très difficile, merci de m'avoir aidée.It was very hard, thanks for helping me.
Mes amis, merci à tous d'être venus.My friends, thank you all for coming.
Sarah, merci d'être venue.Sarah, thanks for coming.
Paul, merci d'être venu.Paul, thanks for coming.
Merci d'avoir fait ce gâteau, il était délicieux.Thanks for making this cake, it was delicious.
Case of remercier (to thank)
Note that all the above cases also apply to the use of the verb remercier (to thank), as you can see in the examples below:
Elle vous remercie pour toute votre aide.She thanks you for all your help.
Je vous remercie par avance de votre réponse.I thank you in advance for your reply.
J'ai remercié Lucas de m'avoir raccompagnée hier.I thanked Lucas for giving me a ride home yesterday.
Nous vous remercions d'être là aujourd'hui.We thank you for being here today.
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