Permission, obligation, and prohibition are three of the most legally and socially loaded categories in any language. You may enter. You must wear a mask. No smoking. The French toolkit for these acts is distinctly more articulated than the English one. Where English leans heavily on a few modals (can, may, must, can't), French distributes the work across half a dozen verbs and a clutch of impersonal constructions, each tied to a register — informal speech, written instructions, formal directives, public signage.
This page covers the full inventory: the permission verbs (pouvoir, permettre, autoriser, avoir le droit), the prohibition verbs (interdire, défendre, ne pas avoir le droit), the impersonal constructions (il est interdit de, il est permis de), the public-sign register (Défense de fumer, Interdiction de stationner), and the obligation verbs (devoir, il faut). A B1 learner who masters this terrain reads French signage with confidence and handles workplace rules, museum etiquette, and parental commands without grammatical fumbling.
The big picture: three speech acts, three patterns
| Act | Personal construction | Impersonal construction | Sign / notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permission | Tu peux... / Je te permets de... | Il est permis de... | Autorisé |
| Obligation | Tu dois... / Il faut que tu... | Il est obligatoire de... | Obligatoire |
| Prohibition | Tu ne peux pas... / Je t'interdis de... | Il est interdit de... | Défense de... / Interdit |
Each row has a personal address (you, me, us), an impersonal generalization (it is X to do Y), and a sign register where the verb often disappears entirely. Mastering all three forms for each speech act is the goal.
Permission with pouvoir
Pouvoir is the everyday permission verb — equivalent to English can / may. Used in the present, it grants permission casually; in the conditional, it asks for permission politely.
Tu peux entrer, la porte est ouverte.
You can come in, the door's open.
Vous pouvez utiliser mon ordinateur si vous voulez.
You can use my computer if you want.
Je peux te demander quelque chose ?
Can I ask you something?
Pourrais-je vous parler un instant ?
Could I speak with you for a moment?
The conditional pourrais-je / pourriez-vous is the standard polite request form — significantly softer than the present puis-je (which sounds slightly formal but not impolite). For everyday spoken requests, est-ce que je peux and je peux + verb are universal.
Note the inverted form puis-je (rather than peux-je, which doesn't exist). This is one of a handful of irregular inversions in French, preserved from older usage and now restricted to the inverted form: je peux in declaratives, puis-je in inversion.
Permettre à quelqu'un de + infinitive
Permettre requires the explicit à + person + de + infinitive structure — it cannot take a direct object for the person.
Mes parents me permettent de sortir le samedi soir.
My parents let me go out on Saturday nights.
Le règlement permet aux étudiants d'utiliser leurs notes.
The rules allow students to use their notes.
Je te permets de prendre ma voiture, mais conduis prudemment.
I'll let you take my car, but drive carefully.
The structure permettre à X de + INF mirrors conseiller à X de, demander à X de, and many other communication and grant verbs. Internalize the pattern once and it generalizes.
Permettre que + subjunctive also exists, with a clausal complement instead of an infinitive: je ne permettrai pas que tu parles ainsi à ta sœur (I will not allow you to speak to your sister that way). This is more formal and emphatic.
Autoriser quelqu'un à + infinitive
Autoriser is the slightly more formal cousin of permettre. It pairs with à (not de) + infinitive — a deliberate exception that learners must memorize.
On vous autorise à fumer dans la zone réservée.
You're allowed to smoke in the designated area.
Le directeur a autorisé les employés à partir plus tôt vendredi.
The director authorized employees to leave early on Friday.
Je ne suis pas autorisé à vous donner cette information.
I'm not allowed to give you that information.
The passive form être autorisé à + INF is extremely common in formal and bureaucratic French. Je suis autorisé à entrer (I am authorized to enter) is the standard way to claim official permission.
Avoir le droit de + infinitive
Avoir le droit de + INF is an idiomatic and very common way to express having permission or the right to do something. It is more about entitlement than authorization — I have the right rather than someone permits me.
Tu as le droit de protester si tu trouves la décision injuste.
You have the right to protest if you find the decision unfair.
Les enfants n'ont pas le droit de regarder la télé après 21h.
The kids aren't allowed to watch TV after 9 PM.
J'ai le droit de savoir ce qui se passe.
I have the right to know what's going on.
Negated, ne pas avoir le droit de is one of the most natural ways to say to be forbidden from. It is preferred in speech over the heavier il est interdit de or the formal interdire à qqn de.
Prohibition with the negative imperative
The most direct prohibition is the negative imperative — ne fais pas, ne fume pas, ne touche pas. This is the everyday command-and-prohibit form among intimates.
Ne fume pas ici, c'est interdit.
Don't smoke here, it's not allowed.
Ne touchez pas, s'il vous plaît.
Please don't touch.
Ne dis rien à ta mère pour l'instant.
Don't say anything to your mother for now.
For impersonal instructions — recipes, signs, notices — the infinitive form replaces the imperative. This is one of the most distinctive features of written French instructions.
The impersonal infinitive: ne pas + infinitive
In recipes, signs, instructions, and any context where the addressee is generic, French uses the bare infinitive instead of an imperative. Negated, this becomes ne pas + infinitive.
Ne pas dépasser cette limite.
Do not cross this line.
Ne pas oublier d'éteindre le four.
Don't forget to turn off the oven.
Ne pas se pencher par la fenêtre.
Do not lean out of the window.
The negation ne pas sits before the infinitive, not split around it. This is a specific quirk: in finite verbs, ne... pas surrounds the verb (je ne fume pas); in infinitives, ne pas clusters together before the verb (ne pas fumer).
This impersonal infinitive register is everywhere in written French — train doors (Ne pas se pencher au dehors), cleaning instructions (Ne pas laver à plus de 30 degrés), official signage. Recognizing it is essential for navigating France.
Interdire à quelqu'un de + infinitive
Interdire is the standard verb for to forbid and uses the à qqn de + INF structure familiar from conseiller and permettre.
Le médecin lui a interdit de boire de l'alcool.
The doctor forbade him from drinking alcohol.
Je t'interdis de parler comme ça à ta sœur !
I forbid you to talk to your sister like that!
Mes parents m'ont interdit de sortir ce soir.
My parents forbade me from going out tonight.
The passive être interdit de + INF is also used: il est interdit de fumer (smoking is forbidden). This impersonal form is the standard wording on signs and notices.
Défendre à quelqu'un de + infinitive (formal/literary)
Défendre in the sense of to forbid (not to defend) is more formal and somewhat dated. It still appears in literary writing and traditional commands, and it is preserved in the public-sign expression Défense de... (see below).
On défend de marcher sur la pelouse.
It is forbidden to walk on the grass. (formal)
Sa mère lui défendait de sortir le soir.
Her mother forbade her from going out at night. (literary)
Le règlement défend toute forme de discrimination.
The rules forbid any form of discrimination. (formal)
In modern spoken French, défendre in this sense has largely been replaced by interdire. You'll still encounter it in written French, official documents, and on older public signs.
The public-sign register
French public signage has its own compact register. The verb often disappears entirely, replaced by a noun or a fixed formulaic phrase.
Défense de fumer.
No smoking.
Interdiction de stationner.
No parking.
Sortie de secours.
Emergency exit.
Accès interdit au public.
No public access.
Pelouse interdite.
Keep off the grass.
Stationnement réservé aux résidents.
Parking reserved for residents.
The patterns are formulaic: Défense de + INF (no smoking, no entering), Interdiction de + INF (no parking, no stopping), X interdit(e) (forbidden noun), X réservé(e) à (reserved for X). Recognizing them on sight is essential for daily life in France — these signs will be everywhere.
Il est interdit / permis / obligatoire de + infinitive
The impersonal il est X de + INF is the formal counterpart to the personal verbs. It generalizes the rule and removes the addressee.
Il est interdit de fumer dans les lieux publics.
Smoking is forbidden in public places.
Il est permis de prendre des photos sans flash.
Photos without flash are permitted.
Il est obligatoire de porter une ceinture de sécurité.
Wearing a seatbelt is mandatory.
Il n'est pas permis d'apporter sa propre nourriture.
Outside food is not allowed.
This is the register of museum rules, restaurant policies, and official notices. It is universally understood and slightly more polite than the bald infinitive imperative (Ne pas fumer).
Obligation: devoir and il faut que
For the obligation side, the two main verbs are devoir and il faut. Both express necessity, but they differ in their personal vs impersonal posture.
Devoir + infinitive is personal — the obligation is attached to a specific subject:
Tu dois mettre ta ceinture quand tu conduis.
You must wear your seatbelt when you drive.
On doit respecter les règles.
One must respect the rules.
Il faut que + subjunctive is impersonal — it is necessary that:
Il faut que tu mettes ta ceinture.
You need to put your seatbelt on.
Il faut absolument qu'on parte avant huit heures.
We absolutely have to leave before eight.
The negative ne devoir pas + infinitive is also a way to express prohibition: tu ne dois pas mentir (you must not lie). This is firmer than tu ne peux pas (you can't) — it appeals to a moral or social rule rather than to physical or institutional permission.
Tu ne dois pas oublier ses médicaments.
You must not forget her medication.
Vous ne devez pas dépasser la dose prescrite.
You must not exceed the prescribed dose.
Choosing the right tool by context
| Context | Permission | Prohibition |
|---|---|---|
| Casual to friend / child | Tu peux | Ne fais pas / Tu ne peux pas |
| Polite to acquaintance | Vous pouvez | Vous ne pouvez pas |
| Formal grant from authority | On vous autorise à | On vous interdit de |
| Parental / personal command | Je te permets de | Je t'interdis de |
| Legal or institutional rule | Il est permis de | Il est interdit de |
| Public sign | (Stationnement) autorisé | Défense de... / Interdiction de... |
| Intimate command (negative) | — | Ne fume pas ! |
| Recipe / instruction | — | Ne pas faire X |
Common Mistakes
❌ Je permets toi de partir.
Incorrect — permettre takes 'à' + person, not a direct object.
✅ Je te permets de partir.
I'll let you leave.
❌ On vous autorise de fumer.
Incorrect — autoriser takes 'à', not 'de'.
✅ On vous autorise à fumer.
You're allowed to smoke.
❌ Ne fumer pas.
Incorrect — for the impersonal infinitive, 'ne pas' clusters before the verb.
✅ Ne pas fumer.
No smoking.
❌ Tu n'as pas le droit de à parler.
Incorrect — avoir le droit takes 'de' + infinitive, with no extra preposition.
✅ Tu n'as pas le droit de parler.
You don't have the right to speak.
❌ Il est interdit fumer ici.
Incorrect — il est interdit requires 'de' before the infinitive.
✅ Il est interdit de fumer ici.
Smoking is forbidden here.
❌ Il faut que tu peux partir.
Incorrect — il faut que requires the subjunctive of the verb.
✅ Il faut que tu puisses partir.
You need to be able to leave.
Key Takeaways
Permission, obligation, and prohibition each have a personal verb (permettre, devoir, interdire) that takes à qqn de + INF, and an impersonal counterpart (il est permis de, il faut que, il est interdit de) that drops the addressee. Pouvoir and avoir le droit de express permission from the holder's perspective; autoriser and permettre express it from the granter's perspective.
The public-sign register — Défense de fumer, Interdiction de stationner, Accès interdit — is its own compact world. Memorize the formulas; you'll see them on every street.
The preposition pairings are non-negotiable: permettre à X de + INF, autoriser X à + INF, avoir le droit de + INF, interdire à X de + INF, il est interdit de + INF, défense de + INF. Mix the prepositions and you fail to communicate exactly the institutional weight you intend.
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