Learn French: Il faut juger le mal avant de parler de la justice. - One must judge evil before talking about justice.

Il faut juger le mal avant de parler de la justice.

One must judge evil before talking about justice.

Breakdown of Il faut juger le mal avant de parler de la justice.

of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)

parler

to speak

it (impersonal subject)

falloir

to be necessary / must (impersonal)

Questions & Answers about Il faut juger le mal avant de parler de la justice.

Why do mal (evil) and justice (justice) have the definite articles le and la? We don't use 'the' for them in English.

In French, general concepts and abstract nouns (like love, evil, or justice) always require a definite article (le, la, l', or les). So 'evil' becomes le mal and 'justice' becomes la justice.

Why is it avant de parler and not just avant parler?

When you want to say 'before doing [something]', you must use the phrase avant de followed by an infinitive verb. The word avant by itself is typically followed by a noun, like avant le repas (before the meal).

Could I use avant que here instead?

You could technically say avant qu'on parle, but avant de plus the infinitive is much more natural and preferred when the subject performing both actions is the same. Since il faut sets up a general rule for everyone, the implied 'doer' of both actions is the same general 'one'.

Does Il faut here mean 'He must' or 'One must'?

It means 'One must' or 'It is necessary.' The verb falloir (to be necessary) is an impersonal verb, meaning it only ever uses the dummy subject il (like the 'it' in 'it is raining'). It never refers to a specific person.