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### 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.

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### 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).

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### 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**.

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Obligation (devoir)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Knowing facts vs. familiarity (savoir, connaître)

Question	Answer
to have to / must	devoir
to read	lire
the document	le document
I have to read this document.	Je dois lire ce document.
to write	écrire
the report	le rapport
You have to write the report.	Vous devez écrire le rapport.
to send	envoyer
You have to send a message to the client.	Tu dois envoyer un message au client.
It is ten o'clock and we must start the meeting.	Il est dix heures et nous devons commencer la réunion.
to print	imprimer
They have to print a lot of documents.	Elles doivent imprimer beaucoup de documents.
to sign	signer
the file / the folder	le dossier
The boss has to sign this file.	Le chef doit signer ce dossier.
You must read the report because it is a difficult problem.	Tu dois lire le rapport parce que c'est un problème difficile.
today	aujourd'hui
We have to work today.	On doit travailler aujourd'hui.
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 ?
They have to send a message to the boss.	Ils doivent envoyer un message au chef.
The client has to sign this document today.	Le client doit signer ce document aujourd'hui.

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