The verb devoir
The verb devoir means "must" or "to have to". Use it to express obligations, such as your daily tasks and duties at work.
| Pronoun | Devoir |
|---|---|
| je | dois |
| tu | dois |
| il / elle / on | doit |
| nous | devons |
| vous | devez |
| ils / elles | doivent |
Just like pouvoir, you will usually follow devoir with an infinitive (the dictionary form of a verb) to state what someone has to do.
| I have to read this document. | Je dois lire ce document. |
| You have to write the report. | Vous devez écrire le rapport. |
| It is ten o'clock and we must start the meeting. | Il est dix heures et nous devons commencer la réunion. |
Workplace duties
When managing paperwork and daily tasks, you will often combine devoir with verbs like envoyer (to send), imprimer (to print), or signer (to sign).
| You have to send a message to the client. | Tu dois envoyer un message au client. |
| They have to print a lot of documents. | Elles doivent imprimer beaucoup de documents. |
| The boss has to sign this file. | Le chef doit signer ce dossier. |
| We have to work today. | On doit travailler aujourd'hui. |
Asking about obligations
To ask if something must be done, you can place est-ce que before your subject and the conjugated form of devoir.
| Do you have to print this file? | Est-ce que vous devez imprimer ce dossier ? |
| Do I have to write the report now? | Est-ce que je dois écrire le rapport maintenant ? |
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