The verb "devoir" ('must / have to') is irregular in Le Présent:
| je dois | I must |
| tu dois | You must (one person you know well) |
| il/elle/on doit | He/She/We/one/people must |
| nous devons | We must |
| vous devez | You must (more than 1 person or formal) |
| ils/elles doivent | They must |
Listen to those examples:
Je dois aller au travail.
I must go to work.
Tu dois faire la vaisselle d'abord.
You must do the dishes first.
Elle doit faire ses devoirs.
She must do her homework.
Nous devons nous dépêcher, nous sommes déjà en retard.
We must hurry, we're already late.
Vous devez partir maintenant?
Must you leave now?
Ils doivent économiser de l'argent.
They must save money.
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Elle doit faire ses devoirs.
She must do her homework.
Ils doivent économiser de l'argent.
They must save money.
Vous devez partir maintenant?
Must you leave now?
Tu dois faire la vaisselle d'abord.
You must do the dishes first.
Je dois aller au travail.
I must go to work.
Nous devons nous dépêcher, nous sommes déjà en retard.
We must hurry, we're already late.
Q&A
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
15/09/16
That's a very good question!
The fact is that in practice, "devoir" and "il faut" are perfectly interchangeable :)
The only nuance would be that "il faut" being an impersonal structure, you would maybe prefer "devoir" to emphasise WHO "must act".
Il faut courir. (One/You/We must run.)
Il doit courir. (He must run.)
I hope that's helpful!
William
Kwiziq community member
16 August 2018
1 reply
Is avoir à a possible alternative to devoir?
Can avoir à ever be used instead of devoir? For example j'ai à vous remercier instead of je dois vous remercier.Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
22 August 2018
22/08/18
Hi David,
Answered your question in another post.