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.
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.
- 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
Il a dû le laisser là pour toi.
He must have left it there for you.
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 ?
Q&A
Chris
Kwiziq community member
29/01/19
Elle a dû le remplacer. -- She had to replace him.Elle devait le remplacer. -- She was supposed to replace him.
Ann
Kwiziq community member
29/01/19
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.
William
Kwiziq community member
22 February 2019
3 replies
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"
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
26 March 2019
26/03/19
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
Kwiziq community member
26 March 2019
26/03/19
Is "mais elle a eu un empéchement" also possible here?
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
27 March 2019
27/03/19
Tout à fait, William ...