I thought devaient être meant should have been...shouldn't it be les gens doivent avez été?

Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

I thought devaient être meant should have been...shouldn't it be les gens doivent avez été?

Asked 5 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Ann,

It is the old perennial problem of whether to use the imperfect or the perfect tense.

With the additional difficulty of ‘devoir’

Devaient être = imparfait 

Or 

Ont dû être  passé  composé

Here the imperfect is better.

Devraient ( with an -r) être is should be. 

Hope this helps!

Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Could you explain why that tense is better here?

CécileNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq

The imparfait here describes how things used to be, were at that time in the past ...

I thought devaient être meant should have been...shouldn't it be les gens doivent avez été?

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