Translation
to be necessary (il faut)
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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
.
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.
.
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
(13)À l'hôtel : une chambre pour deux nuits
2 min read · Core 5000
Le défi de Malik
3 min read · Core 5000
Il faut que tu partes
4 min read · Core 5000
Le mensonge de Théo
4 min read · Core 5000
Dubois fait tout refaire
5 min read · Core 5000
J'aime bien ranger
5 min read · Core 5000
Je ne conduis pas de train
5 min read · Core 5000
Le parcours était mal fait
5 min read · Core 5000
Le seul qui puisse
5 min read · Core 5000
Mais vous, oui
5 min read · Core 5000
Pas encore
5 min read · Core 5000
Qu'il vienne ou non
5 min read · Core 5000
Une paire par maison
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(9)French Conditional Tense (Conditionnel): Endings and Uses
Regular -ir Verbs in French: Present Tense Conjugation
French Future Tense: Futur Simple vs Futur Proche
Intermediate French Grammar (B1-B2): What Breaks the Plateau
French Irregular Verbs: List, Chart and the Patterns
Should Have in French: j'aurais dû, tu aurais pu
French Subjunctive After il faut que and vouloir que
French Imperfect Subjunctive (Subjonctif Imparfait): Recognise It
French Present Subjunctive Conjugation Tables and Irregulars
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French · Free printables
falloir: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the French word "falloir" (to be necessary (il faut)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 2, lesson 11: falloir, oh, maintenant and 6 more words.