Look at these examples of devoir in the Conditionnel passé:
Conjugating devoir in Le Conditionnel Passé is easy:
Conditionnel of avoir + dû (past participle of devoir) + infinitive
Notice the difference between the English and French:
- in English you use the past participle form of the verb (locked, listened, eaten)
- in French we use the Conditionnel passé of devoir + the verb infinitive (fermer, écouter, manger)
Compare this with:
Conjugate pouvoir in Le Conditionnel Passé = could have (past conditional)
See other lessons on Le Conditionnel Passé:
Conjugate regular -er, -ir, -dre verbs (+ avoir) in Le Conditionnel Passé (past conditional)
Conjugate verbs (+ être) in Le Conditionnel Passé (past conditional)
Conjugate verbs with irregular past participles in Le Conditionnel Passé (past conditional)
See other lessons on Le Conditionnel Passé:
Conjugate regular -er, -ir, -dre verbs (+ avoir) in Le Conditionnel Passé (past conditional)
Conjugate verbs (+ être) in Le Conditionnel Passé (past conditional)
Conjugate verbs with irregular past participles in Le Conditionnel Passé (past conditional)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Elle aurait dû freiner plus tôt.
She should have braked earlier.
J'aurais dû manger plus tôt.
I should have eaten earlier.
Nous n'aurions pas dû l'écouter.
We shouldn't have listened to him.
Ils auraient dû prendre le bus à la place.
They should have taken the bus instead.
Tu aurais dû fermer la porte à clé.
You should have locked the door.
Vous auriez dû la prévenir.
You should have warned her.
Q&A
Chris
Kwiziq community member
24/01/18
Hi Paula,
"devoir" in the imparfait? Et voilà:
je devais,
tu devais,
il/elle/on devait,
nous devions,
vous deviez,
ils/elles devaient.
And since I am not entirely clear on what you mean by "how to we use devoir in the imparfait", here is an example:
I must clean my room. -- Je dois ranger ma chambre. (present tense)
I should clean my room. -- Je devrais ranger ma chambre. (conditionel présent)
I should have cleaned my room. -- J'aurais dû ranger ma chambre. (conditionel passé)
If that doesn't address your actual question, could you rephrase it again, please, because I am not sure I quite understand what you are asking.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
"devoir" in the imparfait? Et voilà:
je devais,
tu devais,
il/elle/on devait,
nous devions,
vous deviez,
ils/elles devaient.
And since I am not entirely clear on what you mean by "how to we use devoir in the imparfait", here is an example:
I must clean my room. -- Je dois ranger ma chambre. (present tense)
I should clean my room. -- Je devrais ranger ma chambre. (conditionel présent)
I should have cleaned my room. -- J'aurais dû ranger ma chambre. (conditionel passé)
If that doesn't address your actual question, could you rephrase it again, please, because I am not sure I quite understand what you are asking.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
24/01/18
Bonjour Paula!
I think I understand what you're asking here.
The verb devoir in L'Imparfait will usually be translated as "I had to" or "I was supposed to", as such:
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
I think I understand what you're asking here.
The verb devoir in L'Imparfait will usually be translated as "I had to" or "I was supposed to", as such:
Je devais l'appeler, mais je n'ai pas eu le temps.
I was supposed to call him, but I didn't have time.
Il devait absolument le faire ce jour-là.
He absolutely had to do it that day.
I was supposed to call him, but I didn't have time.
Il devait absolument le faire ce jour-là.
He absolutely had to do it that day.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
18/07/17
Bonjour M -
No. The subjunctive is required after certain verbs, conjunctions, and expressions. It's never interchangeable with the conditionnel passé.
No. The subjunctive is required after certain verbs, conjunctions, and expressions. It's never interchangeable with the conditionnel passé.
Ron
Kwiziq community member
19/06/17
One way to say «must have» is «il doit avoir». there are other constructions, however.
Ron
Kwiziq community member
19/06/17
In fact, here is another construction «Cela a dû être terrible pour vous»
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
19/06/17
Bonjour Neil !
To express "must have + past participle" as in "must have done"..., you will use Le Passé Composé of "devoir" = "a dû + infinitive"
"Ça a dû coûter cher." (It must have cost a lot)
"Il a dû se sentir mal à l'aise. (He must have felt uneasy.)
See:
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/conjugate-voir-boire-croire-savoir-lire-taire-avoir-in-le-passe-compose-conversational-past
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
To express "must have + past participle" as in "must have done"..., you will use Le Passé Composé of "devoir" = "a dû + infinitive"
"Ça a dû coûter cher." (It must have cost a lot)
"Il a dû se sentir mal à l'aise. (He must have felt uneasy.)
See:
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/conjugate-voir-boire-croire-savoir-lire-taire-avoir-in-le-passe-compose-conversational-past
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Neil
Kwiziq community member
19/06/17
Thank you that is wonderful. Neil J
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
10/04/17
Bonjour Meghna !
Here it's about colloquialism in both languages.
You are correct that the "le" in French means "it/that" here, but in English you tend not to express it, whereas in French it's always necessary to add it:
I'm glad you told me [it].
Je suis contente que tu me *l'*ai dit.
I'll add [it] to the question to remove any ambiguity :)
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Here it's about colloquialism in both languages.
You are correct that the "le" in French means "it/that" here, but in English you tend not to express it, whereas in French it's always necessary to add it:
I'm glad you told me [it].
Je suis contente que tu me *l'*ai dit.
I'll add [it] to the question to remove any ambiguity :)
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Meghna
Kwiziq community member
10/04/17
Thanks Aurélie. The clarification is helpful indeed
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
10/03/17
Bonjour Oleg !
No, they're not interchangeable, as the second form is used only in very formal writing, and is extremely rare nowadays.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
No, they're not interchangeable, as the second form is used only in very formal writing, and is extremely rare nowadays.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
8/02/17
Bonjour Jennifer, et merci du compliment !
To express "must have", you will conjugate the verb "devoir" in Le Passé Composé followed by your verb's infinitive:
"Elle a dû aller faire les courses." (She must have gone to the shops.)
"J'ai dû me tromper." (I must have made a mistake.)
Here's a link to Le Passé Composé of "devoir":
https://french.kwiziq.com/my-languages/french/view/4612
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
To express "must have", you will conjugate the verb "devoir" in Le Passé Composé followed by your verb's infinitive:
"Elle a dû aller faire les courses." (She must have gone to the shops.)
"J'ai dû me tromper." (I must have made a mistake.)
Here's a link to Le Passé Composé of "devoir":
https://french.kwiziq.com/my-languages/french/view/4612
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Jennifer
Kwiziq community member
9/02/17
Ought to have,
Mercii Aurélie.
Would you also help me out with ought to? what would we say for example for he/ought/should have done their homework. I ask this because I now realise that the difference between ought, should and must have are becoming difficult for me to destinguish.
Thank you once again
Mercii Aurélie.
Would you also help me out with ought to? what would we say for example for he/ought/should have done their homework. I ask this because I now realise that the difference between ought, should and must have are becoming difficult for me to destinguish.
Thank you once again
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
10/02/17
"Ought to" and "should" will both be translated in the same way in French, as they mean the same:
with "devoir" in Le Conditionnel.
:)
with "devoir" in Le Conditionnel.
:)
Jennifer
Kwiziq community member
15/02/17
Thank you
Kevin
Kwiziq community member
21 September 2016
1 reply
Great lesson--thank you. Don't know how I missed knowing this!
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
21/09/16
Happy to help! :-)
CrystalMaiden
Kwiziq community member
6 May 2018
1 reply
So French doesn't have " should have, " it has " I've had to + verb. "
Maybe this should be mentioned in the lesson, because once you read the French sentences as " I've had to " etc, it makes it a lot easier.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
17 May 2018
17/05/18
Actually in French, it's "I would have had to + verb" = j'aurais dû + verbe