Breakdown of Je dois être à l'heure au travail.
Questions & Answers about Je dois être à l'heure au travail.
Why do we use devoir + infinitive to express obligation in Je dois être?
Devoir is a modal verb in French that expresses necessity or obligation. When you pair it with another verb, that second verb stays in the infinitive form.
• Je dois = “I have to”
• être = “to be”
Together, Je dois être literally means “I have to be.”
How is devoir conjugated for different subjects?
Here is the present‐tense conjugation of devoir:
• Je dois
• Tu dois
• Il/Elle/On doit
• Nous devons
• Vous devez
• Ils/Elles doivent
Just replace je dois with the correct form for tu, il, nous, etc.
Why is être à l’heure used to mean “to be on time”?
Être à l’heure is an idiomatic expression in French.
• être = “to be”
• à l’heure = literally “at the hour,” but idiomatically “on time”
You can’t say être en temps to mean “on time”; the fixed phrase is être à l’heure.
Why is it au travail instead of à le travail?
What’s the difference between Je dois être à l’heure au travail and Je dois arriver à l’heure au travail?
• être à l’heure focuses on being punctual in general—showing up or being ready exactly on time.
• arriver à l’heure emphasizes the act of arriving at the workplace on time.
Both are correct; choose être for a general state of punctuality, arriver for the action of getting there on time.
Can I say Je dois être à l’heure à mon travail instead of au travail?
Can I replace travail with boulot or job in informal speech?
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