By the end of this lesson you'll be able to say what someone has to do, give simple advice, and tell someone what they must not do.
Il faut
Il faut means that something is necessary. It's a fixed form: the il doesn't refer to anyone, so you can't use it with je or tu. In English, it might be "you have to", "we need to" or "one must", depending on the context.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| il faut + infinitive | eel FOH | you have to, one must |
| il ne faut pas + infinitive | eel nuh foh PAH | you must not |
| Tu n'as pas besoin de… | tew nah pah buh-ZWAN duh | You don't have to…Fixed phrase for now. Vous n'avez pas besoin de… with vous. |
After il faut, use the infinitive, just as you did after the verbs in the lesson on pouvoir, vouloir and devoir.
Se reposer comes from the lesson on daily routines, and boire and dormir come from the lesson on common irregular verbs. Here are some more words for this lesson.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| fumer | few-MAY | to smoke |
| marcher | mar-SHAY | to walk |
| le temps | luh TAHN | time |
Il faut boire de l'eau en été.
You have to drink water in summer.
Il faut dormir huit heures.
You need to sleep for eight hours.
Tu as mal au dos ? Il faut marcher.
Does your back hurt? You need to walk.
You can also put a noun after il faut, to say what's needed. Use du, de la or un as you'd expect.
Il faut du temps.
It takes time.
Il faut une ordonnance.
You need a prescription.
Advice with devoir
You already know devoir from the lesson on pouvoir, vouloir and devoir. It's more personal than il faut, since it's addressed to a particular person.
Tu dois manger.
You have to eat.
Vous devez prendre un comprimé.
You have to take a tablet.
Je dois aller à la pharmacie.
I have to go to the pharmacy.
Advice often starts from a problem, using the words in the lesson on the body and health.
J'ai mal à la gorge. Il faut boire de l'eau.
My throat hurts. You need to drink water.
J'ai de la fièvre. Il faut dormir.
I have a temperature. You need to sleep.
Il faut or devoir?
The two often overlap. Use il faut for something that's true in general, or when you don't want to point at anyone in particular. Use devoir when you're talking directly about one person or a group. If you're giving advice to a friend, either is fine: Il faut manger (You need to eat) or Tu dois manger (You have to eat).
Reflexive verbs
With a reflexive verb, the pronoun depends on what comes before it.
- After il faut, it stays se: Il faut se reposer (You need to rest).
- After devoir, it matches the subject: Tu dois te reposer, Vous devez vous reposer, Je dois me reposer.
Il faut se coucher tôt.
You need to go to bed early.
Vous devez vous lever.
You have to get up.
Saying "must not"
Put ne…pas around faut. Be careful, because the meaning may not be what you expect.
Il ne faut pas boire de café le soir.
You mustn't drink coffee in the evening.
Il ne faut pas toucher.
You mustn't touch.
To say that something isn't necessary, use this fixed phrase, followed by an infinitive.
Tu n'as pas besoin de venir.
You don't have to come.
Vous n'avez pas besoin de prendre rendez-vous.
You don't have to make an appointment.
Learn it as a whole for now. De shortens to d' before a vowel: Tu n'as pas besoin d'attendre.
En français
- J'ai mal à la tête. (My head hurts.)
- Tu dois te reposer. Il faut dormir. (You have to rest. You need to sleep.)
- Je dois travailler ! (I have to work!)
- Non, tu n'as pas besoin de travailler aujourd'hui. (No, you don't have to work today.)
- Et le café ? (And coffee?)
- Il ne faut pas boire de café ! Il faut boire de l'eau. (You mustn't drink coffee! You need to drink water.)
What's next
Next, the lesson on adverbs helps you say how often and how well someone does something. Later on, the lesson on giving advice introduces more ways of doing this.