Learn French: Après avoir vu le danger, il faut qu'elle aille à l'abri. - After seeing the danger, she must go to the shelter.

Après avoir vu le danger, il faut qu'elle aille à l'abri.

After seeing the danger, she must go to the shelter.

Breakdown of Après avoir vu le danger, il faut qu'elle aille à l'abri.

at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)

voir

to see

Questions & Answers about Après avoir vu le danger, il faut qu'elle aille à l'abri.

Why is it aille instead of va in this sentence?

The phrase il faut que (it is necessary that) always triggers the subjunctive mood. Aille is the irregular present subjunctive form of aller (to go) for elle.

Why do we use avoir vu immediately after Après?

In French, to say 'after doing' something, you use après followed by the past infinitive. You form this with the infinitive of the helping verb (here, avoir) plus the past participle (vu). It literally translates to 'after having seen.'

If I want to avoid the subjunctive, could I just use the verb devoir?

Yes, absolutely! Instead of il faut qu'elle aille, you could simply say elle doit aller (she must go). Both are very common, but since il faut que is used so often in daily French, it is essential to practice it!

What does à l'abri mean in this context?

Un abri is a shelter, but the phrase à l'abri is often used more broadly to mean 'under cover' or 'safe.' For example, être à l'abri means 'to be safe' from danger, rain, or harm.