Breakdown of L'aluminium doit être broyé, mais il ne peut pas être incinéré.
être
to be
il
he
mais
but
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
pouvoir
to be able to / can
devoir
to have to / must
l'aluminium
the aluminum (m)
broyer
to shred
incinérer
to incinerate
Questions & Answers about L'aluminium doit être broyé, mais il ne peut pas être incinéré.
How do we form the passive voice with modal verbs like devoir and pouvoir here?
It maps perfectly to English. You conjugate the modal verb (doit or peut), add the infinitive être (to be), and finish with the past participle of the main verb (broyé or incinéré).
Why does the negation pas go after peut instead of after être?
When negating a conjugated verb that is followed by an infinitive, the ne ... pas sandwich wraps around the conjugated verb. Since peut is the conjugated verb, we write ne peut pas, leaving the infinitive phrase être incinéré for afterward.
Do the past participles broyé and incinéré have to agree with the subject, even after an infinitive?
Is it common to use the passive voice like this in everyday spoken French?
While perfectly correct, the passive voice often sounds formal or technical. In everyday spoken French, you would more likely use the active voice with on, saying: On doit broyer l'aluminium, mais on ne peut pas l'incinérer.
Learn L'aluminium doit être broyé, mais il ne peut pas être incinéré and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free