/falwaʁ/
Translation
to be necessary, must, to need
Word origin
An altered form of Old French faillir ('to be lacking, to fail'), from Vulgar Latin fallire, from Latin fallere ('to deceive, to fail'). The impersonal il faut means 'it is needful'.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- fallere
- English cognates
- fail, fault, false
Grammar
Conjugation
Regular french-irregular conjugation. Pronouns: je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles.
Indicative
| Person | Present | Imperfect | Past historic | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | |||||
| tu | |||||
| il/elle | faut | fallait | fallut | faudra | faudrait |
| nous | |||||
| vous | |||||
| ils/elles |
Subjunctive
| Person | Present | Imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| je | ||
| tu | ||
| il/elle | faille | fallût |
| nous | ||
| vous | ||
| ils/elles |
Non-finite
- Gerund / present participle
- Past participle
- fallu
Examples
l'.
We need to leave now if we want to arrive on time.
.
You have to let me know before coming.
.
It takes courage to get through this difficult moment.
réserver l'.
You have to book the tickets several months in advance.
.
It took a lot of patience to finish this project.
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(10)Un soir avec Marc
1 min read · Core 1000
Le jour du travail
3 min read · Core 1000
Le nouveau docteur
3 min read · Core 1000
Il faut que tu partes
4 min read · Core 5000
Le coffre du jardin
4 min read · Core 5000
Le mensonge
4 min read · Core 5000
Un message pour Hélène
4 min read · Core 1000
Une rencontre au marché
4 min read · Core 1000
La seule qui puisse
5 min read · Core 5000
Pas devant les clients
5 min read · Core 1000
Grammar articles
(8)French Conditionnel: Polite Requests, Hypothetical 'Would', and the Same Irregular Stems as the Future
Conjugating French -ir Verbs in the Present Tense
French Future Tense: Futur Proche, Futur Simple, and the Irregular Stems
French Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2): The Things That Stop You at the Plateau
French Irregular Verbs: The Core Set, the -ir Split and the Patterns That Repeat
j'aurais dû, tu aurais pu: French Regrets and Reproaches
The French Present Subjunctive: How to Form It
French Verbs with à, de or Nothing Before an Infinitive
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falloir: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the French word "falloir" (to be necessary, must, to need): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 2.