Learn French: Nous devons faire face à ce problème.

Nous devons faire face à ce problème.

We have to face this problem.

Breakdown of Nous devons faire face à ce problème.

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about Nous devons faire face à ce problème.

Why is there an à after faire face?

The expression for "to face" or "to confront" is faire face à. Just as you've learned that some verbs require à before an infinitive, this fixed expression requires à before the object you are facing, whether it's a noun like ce problème or an action.

Can I translate "to face" as a single verb instead of using faire face à?

Yes, you could use the verb affronter (to confront or face), which takes a direct object directly without a preposition: Nous devons affronter ce problème. However, faire face à is extremely common in everyday French and is an excellent idiom to master at this level.

Wait, isn't problème feminine since it ends in "-e"? Why use the masculine ce?

It is a classic exception! Problème is actually masculine (un problème), despite ending in "-e". Because it starts with a consonant, we use the standard masculine demonstrative adjective ce (meaning "this"). You only use cet for masculine nouns starting with a vowel sound.

Since devoir is conjugated as devons, why is faire in the infinitive?