Tu dois respecter ta voisine.

You must respect your neighbor.

Breakdown of Tu dois respecter ta voisine.

• tu: you
• ta: your
• devoir: must
• la voisine: the neighbor
• respecter: to respect

Questions & Answers about Tu dois respecter ta voisine.

Why is tu used instead of vous in this sentence?

Tu is the informal singular “you” in French. It’s used with friends, family, children or anyone you address on familiar terms. Vous is the formal or plural “you.” So if you spoke to someone you don’t know well or to more than one person, you’d say vous devez respecter votre voisine (formal or plural).

What does dois mean and what tense is it?

Dois is the second-person singular present tense of devoir, which means “to have to” or “must.”
So tu dois literally means “you have to” or “you must.”

Why is respecter in the infinitive form here?

In French, verbs like devoir (must/have to) are modal verbs that require another verb in the infinitive. That’s why you say tu dois + respecter (“you must respect”) rather than conjugating respecter.

Why is there no preposition before ta voisine?

The verb respecter is transitive and takes a direct object: you respect someone directly. Some verbs need a preposition (e.g., penser à, parler de), but respecter does not.

Why do we use ta instead of ton or votre?

Ta is the feminine singular possessive for “your” (informal). Voisine is feminine, so you use ta.

• If you were formal or plural, you’d use votre (e.g., votre voisine).
• If it were a masculine noun, you’d use ton (e.g., ton voisin).

How do you pronounce voisine?

• oi is pronounced /wa/ (like “qua” in English “quart”).
• The s between vowels sounds like /z/.
  Putting it together: voisine = /vwa.zin/ (roughly “vwa-zean”).

Is there a liaison between dois and respecter?

No. In tu dois respecter, the final s of dois is part of the /dwi/ sound and is not a separate consonant for liaison. So you pronounce it as [ty dwi ʁɛs.pɛk.te], without linking.

What’s the difference in nuance between “must” and “have to” for translating tu dois?

Both “must” and “have to” work for tu dois.

• “Must” often feels stronger or more formal: You must respect your neighbor.
• “Have to” is slightly looser or more colloquial: You have to respect your neighbor.
  The French devoir covers both meanings.