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### Intentions vs. completed actions: "vouloir" and "devoir"

When telling a story about a trip, you will constantly switch between setting the scene (what was supposed to happen) and the events that actually took place. French modal verbs change their meaning depending on the past tense you choose.

When you use **vouloir** (to want) and **devoir** (to have to) in the **Imparfait**, you are describing a state of mind or an obligation *before* the outcome was known:
- **vouloir** + Imparfait = wanted to
- **devoir** + Imparfait = was supposed to

However, when you use **devoir** in the **Passé Composé** (**avoir dû**), it means a specific action was forced and actually completed: you *had to* do it, and you did!

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### Success, failure, and attempts

The verb **pouvoir** (to be able to) acts as a powerful storyteller in the **Passé Composé** (**avoir pu**). It stops describing a general ability and instead focuses entirely on the final outcome of a specific event:

- In the negative, it means you *could not* or *failed to* do something.
- In the affirmative, it means you successfully *managed to* do something.

Similarly, **vouloir** shifts its meaning in the Passé Composé (**avoir voulu**). It translates to *tried to* or *decided to*, often implying that you weren't ultimately successful.

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### Dealing with the unexpected

Let's put these past modals to work in some common travel scenarios. Notice how the Imparfait sets up the expectation, while the Passé Composé delivers the reality of the situation.

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Past modals (pouvoir, devoir, vouloir)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and elision (le, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, une)

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)

Obligation (devoir)

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)

Question	Answer
to land	atterrir
We wanted to land in Paris, but there was a storm.	Nous voulions atterrir à Paris, mais il y avait une tempête.
The plane finally had to land in London.	L'avion a finalement dû atterrir à Londres.
the takeoff	le décollage
The takeoff was supposed to be at noon.	Le décollage devait être à midi.
the unforeseen event (m)	l'imprévu (m)
Because of this unforeseen event, we could not see the takeoff.	À cause de cet imprévu, nous n'avons pas pu voir le décollage.
Nobody wanted to manage the unforeseen event.	Personne ne voulait gérer l'imprévu.
the staff	le personnel
We tried to speak to the staff, but no one was there.	Nous avons voulu parler au personnel, mais personne n'était là.
The staff managed to help the passengers.	Le personnel a pu aider les passagers.
the counter (bar, shop)	le comptoir
I had forgotten my passport on the counter.	J'avais oublié mon passeport sur le comptoir.
We were supposed to ask at the counter.	Nous devions demander au comptoir.
full (complete, no vacancy)	complet
The hotel was full, so we had to leave.	L'hôtel était complet, alors nous avons dû partir.
We wanted to book, but everything was full.	Nous voulions réserver, mais tout était complet.
to disembark	débarquer
We had to disembark quickly.	Nous avons dû débarquer vite.
Nobody managed to disembark before midnight.	Personne n'a pu débarquer avant minuit.
the line (queue)	la file
We tried to avoid the line.	Nous avons voulu éviter la file.
I was supposed to wait in the line.	Je devais attendre dans la file.
to extend	prolonger
I managed to extend my vacation.	J'ai pu prolonger mes vacances.
They wanted to extend the trip, but it was not possible.	Ils voulaient prolonger le voyage, mais ce n'était pas possible.
the compensation (f)	l'indemnité (f)
We had already asked for the compensation.	Nous avions déjà demandé l'indemnité.
I managed to get the compensation.	J'ai pu obtenir l'indemnité.