Although this was an exercise about using "devoir", I didn't understand how it expressed "to be late," which was son train a eu du retard Shouldn't it be "de retard" not "du retard?"
The verb devoir usually means must / to have to (see Conjugate devoir in Le Présent (present tense)).
However, in past context, its meaning changes depending on whether you use Passé composé or Imparfait.
Devoir in Imparfait = I was supposed to [do]
Il devait me rappeler, mais il a oublié !
He was supposed to call me back, but he forgot!
Ils devaient venir ce soir, mais ils ont annulé à la dernière minute.
They were supposed to come tonight, but they cancelled at the last minute.
Nous devions nous rejoindre à 17h. Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ?
We were supposed to meet at 5pm. What happened ?
Maintenant que ses parents n'étaient plus là, elle devait s'occuper de sa sœur.
Now that her parents were gone, she had to take care of her sister.
When conjugated in Imparfait, devoir refers to a past obligation, without specifying whether it was met or not.
Actually, in most cases, the obligation was not met.
Actually, in most cases, the obligation was not met.
To conjugate devoir in Imparfait, see Conjugate regular verbs in L'Imparfait (imperfect tense)
Devoir in Passé composé = I had to [do] / I must have [done]
Il est parti tôt, donc j'ai dû faire la lessive moi-même.
He left early, so I had to do the laundry myself.
Nous étions en retard, donc nous avons dû appeler un taxi.
We were late, so we had to call a taxi.
Il a dû le laisser là pour toi.
He must have left it there for you.
J'ai trouvé l'écharpe de Sophie. Elle a dû l'oublier.
I found Sophie's scarf. She must have forgotten it.
When conjugated in Passé composé, devoir can either refer to:
- a past obligation that was met.
or
- the likeliness of an action having taken place, a hypothesis on a past situation.
- a past obligation that was met.
or
- the likeliness of an action having taken place, a hypothesis on a past situation.
To conjugate devoir in Passé composé, see Conjugate voir, devoir, pouvoir, boire, croire, savoir, lire, taire (+ avoir) in Le Passé Composé (conversational past)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Nous étions en retard, donc nous avons dû appeler un taxi.
We were late, so we had to call a taxi.
Il devait me rappeler, mais il a oublié !
He was supposed to call me back, but he forgot!
J'ai trouvé l'écharpe de Sophie. Elle a dû l'oublier.
I found Sophie's scarf. She must have forgotten it.
Ils devaient venir ce soir, mais ils ont annulé à la dernière minute.
They were supposed to come tonight, but they cancelled at the last minute.
Maintenant que ses parents n'étaient plus là, elle devait s'occuper de sa sœur.
Now that her parents were gone, she had to take care of her sister.
Il est parti tôt, donc j'ai dû faire la lessive moi-même.
He left early, so I had to do the laundry myself.
Nous devions nous rejoindre à 17h. Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ?
We were supposed to meet at 5pm. What happened ?
Il a dû le laisser là pour toi.
He must have left it there for you.
Q&A Forum 5 questions, 7 answers
Hi Joanne,
The expression is -
‘Avoir du retard’ = To be late /delayed
L’avion que nous attendons a du retard = The plane we are waiting for is late/delayed
J’ai beaucoup de retard il faut que je me dépêche = I am very late I must hurry
Hope this helps!
Joanne asked:View original
de retard vs. du retard
Although this was an exercise about using "devoir", I didn't understand how it expressed "to be late," which was son train a eu du retard Shouldn't it be "de retard" not "du retard?"
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TedKwiziq community member
l'imparfait de devoir
I am assuming that "was supposed to" and "ought to have" are the same: "he ought to have reminded me"/"he was supposed to remind me" = "il devrait me rappeler".
Asked 2 months ago
Hi Ted,
'was supposed' would use devoir in the imparfait as it is the past -
Il devait me contacter mais ne l'a pas fait = He was supposed to contact me but didn't do it
Il devait me rappeler = He was supposed to remind me /to call me back
'ought to' would use devoir in the conditional ( something that should happen)
Elle devrait aller voir ses parents plus souvent = She ought to go and visit her parents more often
'ought to have' would use devoir in the conditional past (something that should have happened but it's in the past so won't happen now)
Ils auraient dû me demander de les aider = They ought to have asked me to help them
Three different ideas and three different tenses, same verb.
But very good question!
Hope this helps!
Ted asked:View original
l'imparfait de devoir
I am assuming that "was supposed to" and "ought to have" are the same: "he ought to have reminded me"/"he was supposed to remind me" = "il devrait me rappeler".
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William Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
A Supplementary Question
I know that the exercise is about conjugating "devoir" but the second clause is unusual.
You were supposed to go and see her, but something came up. Will there be an separate exercise for this construction?
".... but something came up" .... " ..... mais tu as eu un empéchement"
Asked 7 months ago
Hi William,
'Avoir un empêchement' means to, have an obstruction, hindrance that stopped you doing something ...
So it can be translated in English by
' to have an emergency', 'to be unable to do something', or 'something came up' as in the example you quote.
Hope this helps!
William asked:View original
A Supplementary Question
I know that the exercise is about conjugating "devoir" but the second clause is unusual.
You were supposed to go and see her, but something came up. Will there be an separate exercise for this construction?
".... but something came up" .... " ..... mais tu as eu un empéchement"
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AnnKwiziq 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 8 months ago
Chris 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.
AnnKwiziq 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.Ann asked:View original
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?
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BillKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
New lesson
Great lesson but didn’t see it til I failed a test question:(. Is there a way to find new lessons easily if one has already gotten 100% on all existing lessons? Merci
Asked 9 months ago
Bill asked:View original
New lesson
Great lesson but didn’t see it til I failed a test question:(. Is there a way to find new lessons easily if one has already gotten 100% on all existing lessons? Merci
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