The way I understand devoir, it can mean inevitability in the imparfait such as Il eva it perdre un jour. in the test question, the answer for she had

Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

The way I understand devoir, it can mean inevitability in the imparfait such as Il eva it perdre un jour. in the test question, the answer for she had

to replace him was "Elle a dû" vs if it was inevitable, shouldn't "Elle devait" be correct as well?

Asked 5 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Elle a dû le remplacer. -- She had to replace him.Elle devait le remplacer. -- She was supposed to replace him.

Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

From the thought co: You can also use devoir to express fatalism or the fact that something is inevitable:

Il devait perdre un jour. > He had to / was bound to lose one day. Elle ne devait pas l'entendre avant lundi. > She wasn't to hear it until Monday.

The way I understand devoir, it can mean inevitability in the imparfait such as Il eva it perdre un jour. in the test question, the answer for she had

to replace him was "Elle a dû" vs if it was inevitable, shouldn't "Elle devait" be correct as well?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...