Question 1

How does nous n'aurions pas dû spéculer translate to "we should not have speculated"?

Accepted Answer

To express "should have" (or "should not have") done something, French uses the past conditional of the verb devoir (to have to / must). You conjugate the helper verb avoir in the conditional (nous aurions), add the past participle of devoir (dû), and follow it with the infinitive of the action verb (spéculer).

Question 2

Why are the negative words n' and pas placed around aurions instead of the whole verb phrase?

Accepted Answer

In compound tenses like the past conditional, the negation always hugs the conjugated helper verb. Here, that helper verb is aurions. The n' and pas go immediately before and after it, leaving the past participle (dû) and the infinitive (spéculer) outside the negative sandwich.

Question 3

Why does dû have a circumflex accent (^) on the u?

Accepted Answer

The masculine singular past participle of devoir is spelled dû to distinguish it from the article du (meaning "some" or "of the"). It actually loses this accent in its other forms, like the feminine (due) or plural (dus / dues), because there is no longer a risk of mixing them up with other words.

Question 4

Is grave the best word for "serious" here?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In French, grave is the most common way to say that a situation, problem, or injury is "serious" or "severe." You will also hear the opposite all the time in spoken French: Ce n'est pas grave (often shortened to C'est pas grave), which means "It's not serious," "No worries," or "It's no big deal."

Nous n'aurions pas dû spéculer, la perte est grave.

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