Breakdown of Vous devez suivre les règles de sécurité.
vous
you (plural/formal)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
la règle
the rule
devoir
to have to / must
suivre
to follow
la sécurité
the safety
Questions & Answers about Vous devez suivre les règles de sécurité.
The current lesson is about il faut, so why does this sentence use vous devez instead?
Both express obligation, but they do it differently. Il faut is an impersonal expression meaning "it is necessary" or "one must"—it doesn't target a specific person. Vous devez comes from the verb devoir (to have to / must) and is personal, meaning specifically you have to do it.
Why is suivre (to follow) left in its dictionary (infinitive) form?
Because it directly follows another conjugated verb. In French, when two verbs are used together to express a single idea, the first one is conjugated to match the subject (vous devez), and the second one stays in the infinitive (suivre). You use this exact same pattern with il faut + infinitive!
Why is it règles de sécurité instead of "sécurité règles" like in English?
Doesn't the verb suivre look identical to the "I" form of être (to be) sometimes?
Yes, it does! The "I" form of suivre is je suis (I follow), which is exactly the same as je suis (I am). It's a common A1 trap, but luckily, because we need the infinitive form here (suivre), we don't have to worry about that tricky coincidence in this sentence.
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