Breakdown of Il fallait lire le chapitre, mais la typographie n'était guère lisible.
être
to be
mais
but
ne
not (used before the verb)
lire
to read
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
il fallait
it was necessary, one had to
guère
hardly
lisible
legible
la typographie
the typography
le chapitre
the chapter
Questions & Answers about Il fallait lire le chapitre, mais la typographie n'était guère lisible.
Why is there no pas in n'était guère?
ne... guère is a complete negative structure that translates to "hardly" or "barely." Just like ne... jamais (never) or ne... plus (no longer), the word guère replaces pas. In this sentence, it surrounds the conjugated verb était.
Is ne... guère common in everyday spoken French?
Why use the imparfait Il fallait instead of the passé composé Il a fallu?
The imparfait (Il fallait) is used here because it describes a background situation or an ongoing obligation ("We were supposed to read it" or "The assignment was to read it"). If you used Il a fallu, it would imply a specific, completed event ("We had to read it right then, and we did"). Since the second half of the sentence shows a hurdle (the text was barely legible), it makes sense to describe the ongoing context of the assignment.
Where does the "We" come from in the translation of Il fallait?
Falloir is an impersonal verb that only ever conjugates with il (meaning "it is necessary"). Il fallait lire literally means "It was necessary to read." Because English doesn't often say "it was necessary," we naturally translate it using a personal pronoun like "We had to" or "I had to," which is implied by the wider context of the conversation.
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