We have many variants of the concept of to have to in French. From things that you should do to things you are obligated to do, how can you tell how imperative the task at hand is?

In this post, we’ll cover the different expressions for obligation in French, including situations where these phrases are used, the amount of importance they imply, and how to use them yourself. We’ll group them by the verbs they’re each built around, generally introducing them in order from least to most imperative. You must keep reading to learn them all!

Devoir

The verb devoir in French means to have to or must. We can change level of obligation when using devoir in French by using indicative vs conditional tenses. Let’s see each of these here.

Devoir present tense

In the present tense, devoir expresses obligation as a good approximation of to have to or must in French. To use devoir for expressing obligation, the conjugated form is always followed by an infinitive of the verb that has to be done. In this way, devoir in the present tense is most commonly used with tasks such as chores or school-related tasks like homework.

• On doit faire les courses. – We must go grocery shopping.

• Je dois lui téléphoner. – I have to call him.

(Note that if we don’t follow the conjugated form with another infinitive, devoir in French has a different meaning: to owe.)

Devoir in the conditional mood

To say should in French, we use devoir in the conditional mood. Like we just saw in the present tense, the conditional conjugation is followed by an infinitive in order to express the action that should be done.

This use of the verb devoir most often expresses tasks that would be nice or useful to complete, but are not necessarily obligatory. However, it can also be used as a gentle way to give a command.

• Vous devriez faire la vaisselle. – You should do the dishes.

• Je devrais ranger ma chambre. – I should clean my room.

Avoir

Avoir is the French verb meaning to have, and a couple of useful expressions of obligation are built around it. Indeed, avoir à is a literal translation of to have to in French, although this usage is way less common than its English equivalent. Let’s see both of these French avoir expressions here, starting with the one that’s used most frequently.

If you want to go deeper on the many uses of this verb, we can also recommend our related posts on the many meanings of avoir, and on common avoir expressions.

Avoir besoin de

Avoir besoin de means to need to or simply to need in French. We can use this expression both with actions (verbs) or items (nouns). On its own, avoir un besoin translates as to have a need. When used to express an obligation, avoir besoin de is the full wording, with avoir conjugated. See our other post for all conjugations of the French verb avoir.

Avoir besoin de can be used to talk about tasks that someone must do or needs to do. It’s used very similarly to the verb devoir that we saw above, followed by the infinitive form of the verb that needs to be done:

• J’ai besoin de sortir la poubelle. – I need to take out the trash.

• Elles ont besoin d’acheter les cadeaux. – They need to buy the gifts.

Unlike the verb devoir, the expression avoir besoin de can also be used to express needing an item. In this case, the phrase doesn’t refer to an obligation, but rather a personal need. The best English equivalent is simply to need:

• J’ai besoin de 6 oeufs pour cette recette. – I need six eggs for this recipe.

• Mes enfants ont besoin de dix heures de sommeil par nuit. – My kids need ten hours of sleep every night.

Avoir à

Another way to use avoir to express obligation in French is to use it with the preposition à to mean to have to do something. Avoir à is a literal translation of to have to in French, but it’s used a lot less than the other equivalents we’re covering here. It’s often used fairly generally to signify that you have something to do, often as an excuse if you need to take your leave or avoid some other obligation.

• Désolé, je ne peux pas venir. J’ai trop de choses à faire. – Sorry, I can’t come. I have too many things to do.

Falloir

The irregular French verb falloir is primarily used in the expressions il faut que and il faut. In English, these expressions indicate necessity, often translated as it is necessary. Both expressions mean the same thing, but each has its own set of grammatical rules.

Il faut que

The expression il faut que is an impersonal expression in French, which means it uses “il” in a sense that does not refer to a person or object. To use il faut que, the expression is followed by a subject and a verb conjugated in the subjunctive mood: the conjugated verb describes the action that the subject must do.

This phrase roughly translates to it is necessary that or must, and carries a stronger sense of obligation than should.

• Il faut que tu fasses attention. – It is necessary that you pay attention. – You must pay attention.

• Il faut qu’Émile rende son livre. – It is necessary that Émile returns his book. – Émile must return his book.

Il faut

The expression il faut is another impersonal expression in French, but is followed directly by an infinitive. This construction is used to describe a general necessity that isn’t directed directly at someone specific.

Il faut in English roughly translates as it is necessary to.

• Il faut obéir à ses parents. – It is necessary to obey one’s parents.

• Il faut compléter les tâches avant de se coucher. – It’s necessary to finish one’s tasks before going to bed.

Il faut vs On doit

The first way we saw for expressing obligation in French was to use the verb devoir in the present tense and following it with another verb in the infinitive form. When we use that construction with the impersonal pronoun on we get the expression on doit, meaning one must or we must.

So what’s the difference between il faut and on doit? Well, the main nuance when using devoir vs falloir in French is relatively small, but nonetheless important. It all comes down to what we’re emphasizing.

The verb devoir, or the general expression on doit, highlights the subject of the sentence and expresses something that someone has to do.

Conversely, the verb falloir is impersonal as in the expression il faut, meaning it is necessary. This expression highlights the action itself rather than the people completing the action.

Both expressions introduce an action that must be done, but the connotation of said action being someone’s duty (with devoir) or a necessity (with falloir) depends on the verb and expression being used.

• On doit faire la lessive. – We need to do the laundry. (Here, the emphasis is on the subject, we.)

• Il faut faire la lessive. – The laundry needs to be done. (Here, the emphasis is on the task, doing the laundry.)

Être

Être on its own does not denote obligation, but several French expressions to describe obligation are built around this fundamental verb. These expressions are fairly formal, and imply a strong imperative as compared with the formulations we’ve seen so far.

Check out our other post for all of the être conjugation tables.

Être forcé de

Être forcé de is best understood as a way of saying to be obliged to in French. Although its literal English translation of to be forced to may appear to have some element of coercion, in French it really just carries a meaning of not having a choice but to do something.

To use this expression we conjugate être and add the right adjective ending to forcé to match the subject, and we follow it with an infinitive of the verb that needs to be done.

• Ma mère est toujours forcée d’aller au parc avec mon petit frère. – My mom is still obliged to go to the park with my little brother.

• Faute de paiement, nous sommes forcés d’annuler votre commande. – For lack of payment, we are obliged to cancel your order.

Être obligé de

A very similar way to say to have to in French is with the expression être obligé de. Grammatically, this expression functions the same way as être forcé de. The level of obligation is only slightly heavier.

• Nous étions obligés de demander un prêt. – We had to ask for a loan.

• Les autres passagers sont obligés d’attendre. – The other passengers are obliged to wait.

Être dans l’obligation de

We’re moving along incrementally here with our French expressions of obligation, with être dans l’obligation de being even more formal than the previous ones. The equivalent is much stronger than simply to have to in French, with good English translations being to be obliged to or to have the obligation to.

It uses the construction whereby être is conjugated for the subject, followed by the infinitive form of the verb whose action is obligatory.

• Les jeunes sont dans l’obligation de céder leurs places aux aînés. – The young have the obligation to give up their seats to their elders.

• Comme ils nous ont acueillis l’année passée, nous sommes dans l’obligation d’inviter mes beaux-parents cette année. – Since they hosted us last year, we’re obliged to invite my in-laws this year.

Être contraint de

Much like the previous couple of expressions based around être, the phrase être contraint de is much weightier than the simple to have to in French. While it can sometimes be translated as lightly as to be obliged to, this expression usually takes heavier terms such as to be compelled to, to be forced to, or even to have no choice but to. Être contraint de implies some outside entity as a force that’s beyond negotiation.

It follows the same grammar rules as the phrases above, with the être conjugation and the adjective contrainte matching the subject, and an infinitive form of the action verb at the end.

• Elle est contrainte de finir ses tâches avant de pouvoir partir. – She is obliged to finish her tasks before she can leave.

• Comme ils sont fragiles, mes grands-parents étaient contraints de rester chez eux durant la pandémie. – Since they’re frail, my grandparents were forced to stay at home during the pandemic.

Être obligatoire

Être obligatoire is used to express necessity or obligation in French. In contrast with the other être expressions we’ve looked at so far that are used to describe what somebody specific is obliged to do, this expression is used to describe obligations that apply generally. It is frequently used to declare rules with the hope that they’ll be understood as being mandatory.

Gramatically, we can use this expression two ways. When used with the impersonal pronoun il, it is followed by de and the infinitive form of whatever action is mandatory. Thus, the structure il est obligatoire de [infinitif] translates as it is obligatory to [infinitive] or it is mandatory to [infinitive]. The adjective obligatoire doesn’t change form here, since it agrees with the pronoun il.

• Il est obligatoire d’assister à la réunion hebdomadaire. – It is obligatory to attend the weekly meeting.

• Il est obligatoire d’utiliser le gel hydroalcoolique avant de toucher les produits. – It is mandatory to use the hand sanitizer before touching the products.

Whereas the examples we just saw had actions that are obligatory, we can also use être obligatoire when a noun is obligatory. In this case, the obligatory thing is the subject, and être is conjugated in the third-person. The adjective obligatoire also needs to match number of the obligatory subject; it doesn’t change between genders.

• Une preuve de vaccination est obligatoire. – A proof of vaccination is obligatory.

• Les équipements de protection individuelle sont obligatoires sur le chantier. – Personal protective equipment is mandatory on the worksite.

Se voir dans l’obligation de

Our final and most-formal way of saying to have to in French is se voir dans l’obligation de. The phrase implies an outside, superior force behind the obligation, often with a tinge of regret.

This long and grammatically-complex expression is based around the reflexive verb se voir, meaning essentially to see oneself. The long-form translation is therefore to find oneself under the obligation to. It can also use the adjective, with the form se voir obligé de.

• Elle s’est vue dans l’obligation de déménager à cause d’une détérioration du quartier. – She found herself obliged to move because of the neighborhood’s deterioration.

• Vers la fin de sa vie, nous nous sommes vus dans l’obligation d’engager une aide-soignante pour s’occuper de notre mère. – Near the end of her life, we were obliged to hire a personal nurse to care for our mother.

Conclusion

In this post we covered the full spectrum of options for expressing obligation in French. We started with the lightest levels of necessity, with should, to need to, and to have to in French. We worked our way up through even more imperative expressions where we really state how obligated we are to do something.

Maintenant, quand vous avez besoin d’exprimer une obligation en français, vous connaissez de nombreuses options! – Now when you need to express an obligation in French, you know many options!