How to choose your obligation words

When it comes to expressing obligation or necessity either in English or French, there are several options. The aim of this mini-lesson is to study all the alternatives you can choose from and understand the subtle differences between them.

In English, the options are:

• You have to
• You’ve got to
• You must
• You ought to
• You need to
• You should

What are they in French? Let’s dive in!

How to express obligation in French?

We have just seen all the ways to express obligation (and necessity) in English. The translation of them would be like this:

• I ought to >>> je devrais
• I should >>> je devrais
• I need to >>> j’ai besoin de
• I have to  >>> je dois
• I ‘ve got to >>> je dois
• I must >>> je dois
• It’s necessary to >>> il faut

So, it becomes tricky: should you choose “je dois” ? “je devrais”?, “il faut”? What are their differences? We will examine each of them in the following parts. 

The obligation spectrum in French.

At this stage, you are aware there exists a variety of verbs in order to express obligation and necessity. That’s why it’s natural to ask ourselves if some are stronger than others, and in which contexts we should apply them.

To start, there are 2 big families: obligation and necessity. In French, “je dois”, “je devrais” and “il faut” reflect obligation while “j’ai besoin de“ refers to necessity.   

As a result, necessity is weaker than obligation. And in the”obligation” group, the present is always stronger than the conditional. Finally,  “il faut” is rather versatile since it can express obligation or necessity depending on the context!

By the way, you will see in the next parts how obligation can be internal or external too.

Intonation matters.

Instead of translating word for word, always try to translate the idea. Have a clear notion of the context as well. For instance, you can ask yourself: “Who’s talking to whom?” “What’s the intention of the person saying it?”

Not only will you pick the right obligation word, but you’ll also adopt the perfect intonation to communicate your intention. Let’s take the same sentence with 2 distinct intentions:

• Je devrais partir maintenant >>> I really ought to go now  

There are 2 different contexts. In the first case, you are saying it but you don’t feel like going. On the other hand, you’re leaving right now. If you want to appreciate the differences of intonation, I am inviting you to watch the video. 

How to express obligation with the French verb devoir.

The French verb “devoir” triggers obligation. However, the present is much stronger than the conditional.

 Here’s the conjugation of “devoir” at the present tense:

• je dois
• tu dois
• il / elle doit
• nous devons
• vous devez
• ils / elles doivent

For the conditional, it is applied to give advice like this example:

• Tu devrais partir maintenant car il est tard  >>> I should go now because it’s late.

Don’t forget that your tone, body language and the look while saying it will let you know the level and the intention behind it!

Obligation or necessity?

In some cases, choosing between obligation and necessity is challenging even in English.

When you say the following:

• Tu as besoin de partir  >>> You need to go

What is the intention? Are you giving advice because the person may miss the train? Or do you really want this person out of your house and you are trying to say it in a nice way?

Bottom line, once more the intonation and the body language will give us the clues to understand the context.

How do you use il faut?

This French structure is unique. First, it is an impersonal verb meaning there’s just 1 conjugation with the pronoun “il” (“It” in this context), secondly, it can express necessity or obligation. On top of it, French people drop the “il” while speaking.

Let’s study this structure with the same sentence:

• Faut faire la vaisselle? 
• Faut faire la vaisselle!

 Do you know how to translate it?

Have you noticed the punctuation? You should because the meaning varies completely.

In the first scenario, someone is offering to help with the washing up. On the contrary, in the second case, someone is demanding somebody else to do it! Indeed, it is rather an order or extreme necessity or even an emergency.

With this impersonal structure, the obligation or necessity can be external since there’s no specific subject. Let’s have some concrete examples:

• Tu as besoin de partir  >>> You need to go

Necessity with avoir besoin de. 

Here’s another challenging French structure. It is rather a phrasal verb. Indeed, in French, the verb “to need” doesn’t exist. Instead, we translate the idea like this “to have the need of”.

Therefore, suffice to conjugate the verb “to have” and put your infinitive after “de” or simply a noun:

• avoir (conjugated) + besoin de + infinitive or a noun.   

The conjugation for the present tense would be like the following:

• j’ai besoin de
• tu as besoin de
• il / elle a besoin de
• nous avons besoin de
• vous avez besoin de
• ils / elles ont besoin de

 Let’s play with examples:

• Tu as besoin d’une voiture  >>> You need a car
• Ils ont besoin de faire du sport  >>> They need to do some sports.

Which obligation word to choose?

Oui, we saw various obligation words. But, non, you don’t have to learn all of them. 

Besides, it’s easier to memorise them in French since they are fewer. Your choice is:

• je dois
• je devrais
• j’ai besoin
• il faut

At this stage, you are aware that the present is stronger than the conditional. You also know the structure of “il faut” is impersonal and can either express obligation or necessity. Finally, “avoir besoin de” triggers necessity.

To summarise,

• Tu as besoin d’écrire tes propres exemples (You need to write your own examples)
• Tu devrais pratiquer sur notre page Facebook (You should practice on our Facebook page)
• Tu dois poser des questions si tu en as (You ought to ask questions if you have any)
• Il faut apprendre le français avec plaisir! (It’s necessary to enjoy learning French!)

So, what are YOU doing to express obligations in French?