Question 1

Why use Il ne faut pas instead of On ne doit pas to mean "One must not"?

Accepted Answer

Il faut (and its negative il ne faut pas) is an impersonal expression meaning "it is necessary" or "one must/must not". While on ne doit pas is also correct, il ne faut pas is the most natural and common way in French to express a general rule, warning, or piece of advice that applies to everyone.

Question 2

Why does the verb se fier have the pronoun se in front of it here?

Accepted Answer

The verb meaning "to trust" or "to rely on" is se fier, which is a pronominal verb. It always requires a reflexive pronoun. Because Il ne faut pas doesn't refer to a specific person (like "I" or "you"), we use the default third-person reflexive pronoun se before the infinitive.

Question 3

Do I always have to use the preposition à with se fier?

Accepted Answer

Yes, se fier is always followed by the preposition à when introducing the person or thing you are trusting. You cannot translate the English "trust this forecast" directly; in French, you "trust to" something, which is why we say se fier à cette prévision.

Question 4

Since this lesson is about reported speech, how would I report this sentence if it had originally been spoken in the future tense?

Accepted Answer

If the original warning used the Futur Simple (Il ne faudra pas se fier...), you must backshift that tense to the Conditionnel Présent when reporting it in the past. To say "He said that we shouldn't (would not have to) trust this forecast", you would say: Il a dit qu'il ne faudrait pas se fier à cette prévision.

Il ne faut pas se fier à cette prévision.

Breakdown of Il ne faut pas se fier à cette prévision.

Questions & Answers about Il ne faut pas se fier à cette prévision.

Learn Il ne faut pas se fier à cette prévision and more in French