Breakdown of Il faut suivre la règle sans exception.
sans
without
la règle
the rule
il
it (impersonal subject)
falloir
to be necessary / must (impersonal)
suivre
to follow
l'exception
the exception (f)
Questions & Answers about Il faut suivre la règle sans exception.
Why isn't there an article like une or l' before exception?
After the preposition sans (without), French usually drops the indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la). Because we are talking about exceptions in a general sense, it is simply sans exception rather than sans une exception.
The English translation says 'You must', but doesn't Il faut literally mean 'It is necessary'?
Yes, exactly! Il faut is an impersonal expression, meaning the il doesn't refer to a specific person like 'he'. It translates literally to 'It is necessary to' or 'One must'. In English, we naturally phrase this kind of general rule as 'You must'.
Why is the verb suivre in its full, unconjugated form here?
The expression il faut is always followed by an infinitive verb (the original, unconjugated form found in the dictionary). So, to say 'It is necessary to follow', you just put the infinitive suivre right after il faut.
Is the verb suivre related to je suis (I am)?
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