There had to be - passé composé?

helen w.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

There had to be - passé composé?

I know this lesson is about the plus que parfait but to say "had to", can you also use the passé composé? For example, he had to leave before 5. "Il a dû partir à 5 heures. 

Asked 2 years ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Helen,

Il a dû partir à 5 heures = he had to leave at 5 o'clock

-> Conjugate voir/devoir/pouvoir/boire/croire/savoir/lire/plaire/taire (+ avoir) in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)

Il avait dû partir à 5 heures = He'd [had] had to leave at 5 o'clock

-> Conjugate devoir in the pluperfect tense in French (Le Plus-que-Parfait)

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The sentence “He had to leave” is past tense. Past perfect would be “He had had to leave.”

There had to be - passé composé?

I know this lesson is about the plus que parfait but to say "had to", can you also use the passé composé? For example, he had to leave before 5. "Il a dû partir à 5 heures. 

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