devoir — Present Simple in French
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English | Example in French |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | dois | I have to finish this report today. | Je dois finir ce rapport aujourd'hui. |
| tu | dois | You must call your mother. | Tu dois appeler ta mère. |
| il/elle | doit | He/she has to leave early tomorrow. | Il/Elle doit partir tôt demain. |
| nous | devons | We have to buy groceries. | Nous devons faire les courses. |
| vous | devez | You all must be careful on the road. | Vous devez faire attention sur la route. |
| ils/elles | doivent | They have to work this weekend. | Ils/Elles doivent travailler ce week-end. |
devoir — Past Compound in French
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English | Example in French |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | ai dû | I had to call my mom yesterday. | J'ai dû appeler ma mère hier. |
| tu | as dû | You had to leave before the party ended. | Tu as dû partir avant la fin de la fête. |
| il/elle | a dû | He/She had to cancel the meeting. | Il a dû annuler la réunion. |
| nous | avons dû | We had to take the train this morning. | Nous avons dû prendre le train ce matin. |
| vous | avez dû | You all had to change your plans. | Vous avez dû changer vos plans. |
| ils/elles | ont dû | They had to find another solution. | Ils ont dû trouver une autre solution. |
devoir — Imperfect in French
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English | Example in French |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | devais | I had to study every evening. | Je devais étudier tous les soirs. |
| tu | devais | You had to wake up at six. | Tu devais te réveiller à six heures. |
| il/elle | devait | He/she had to take the bus to school. | Il/Elle devait prendre le bus pour l'école. |
| nous | devions | We had to wait for hours. | Nous devions attendre pendant des heures. |
| vous | deviez | You all had to wear uniforms. | Vous deviez porter des uniformes. |
| ils/elles | devaient | They had to move to another city. | Ils/Elles devaient déménager dans une autre ville. |
devoir — Future in French
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English | Example in French |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | devrai | I'll have to get up early. | Je devrai me lever tôt. |
| tu | devras | You'll have to choose quickly. | Tu devras choisir vite. |
| il/elle | devra | He/she will have to pay the bill. | Il/Elle devra payer l'addition. |
| nous | devrons | We'll have to find a solution. | Nous devrons trouver une solution. |
| vous | devrez | You all will have to sign the papers. | Vous devrez signer les papiers. |
| ils/elles | devront | They'll have to arrive before noon. | Ils/Elles devront arriver avant midi. |
devoir — Conditional in French
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English | Example in French |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | devrais | I should call him back. | Je devrais le rappeler. |
| tu | devrais | You should eat something. | Tu devrais manger quelque chose. |
| il/elle | devrait | He/she should rest more. | Il/Elle devrait se reposer davantage. |
| nous | devrions | We should leave now. | Nous devrions partir maintenant. |
| vous | devriez | You all should ask for help. | Vous devriez demander de l'aide. |
| ils/elles | devraient | They should apologize. | Ils/Elles devraient s'excuser. |
devoir — Present Subjunctive in French
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English | Example in French |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | doive | I doubt I have to work tomorrow. | Je doute que je doive travailler demain. |
| tu | doives | It's important that you have to finish this today. | Il est important que tu doives finir ça aujourd'hui. |
| il/elle | doive | I don't think he/she has to leave early. | Je ne pense pas qu'il doive partir tôt. |
| nous | devions | They want us to have to pay now. | Ils veulent que nous devions payer maintenant. |
| vous | deviez | It's possible that you all have to wait longer. | Il est possible que vous deviez attendre plus longtemps. |
| ils/elles | doivent | I'm afraid they have to start over. | J'ai peur qu'ils doivent recommencer. |