meaning of reussir

Question

j'aurai reussi ma vie - i will have had a successful life. Other examples of reussir have 'a' and 'de' after it on reverso. Why doesn't it need anything here? And one other thing, I'm asking quite a lot of questions and I always tick the 'get an email notification button' but I noticed just now that I have had two answers on this page, but I was not notified. Is this a glitch?

Accepted Answer

Hi Chris, 
The verb 'réussir' as in to be successful ( in life) is just a stand-alone verb.
You will even hear people in France saying

Il/Elle a réussi = He /She is successful
Ses enfants ont bien réussi = His/her children are very successful

meaning he/she/has or they have had a good job, career, etc.

Réussir à un examen = To pass an exam
Réussir à faire quelque chose = to succeed/to manage (in) doing something

J'ai réussi à finir mon puzzle hier soir = I succeeded/managed to finish my jigsaw last night
Re- your other query, please contact the helpdesk as I am getting email notifications.
Bonne Continuation!

Answer

Réussir à qqc is the traditional way to express having success at something. Since the 19th century, one increasingly finds réussir wirh a COD, i.e., without any preposition. Meanwhile, you sometimes and in some contexts also hear réussir en and réussir dans.Réussir sa vie is, however, a pretty fixed idiom. On the other hand, one often says réussir à faire qqc.Here is more on this: http://bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?id=2168