French grammar · Intermediate
Falloir in French: Il Faut, Il Faudra, and How to Say You Must
Falloir expresses necessity, and it exists only as il faut. With an infinitive it states a general obligation (il faut partir); with que plus the subjunctive it aims that obligation at somebody (il faut que tu partes); and with a noun it means to need (il me faut du temps).
Il faut réserver avant vendredi.
You have to book before Friday.
What it is
Falloir is the purest impersonal verb in French: it has one form per tense and no subject you could ever name. That is exactly what makes it useful. Il faut states that something is necessary without saying who has to do it, which is why signs, recipes and advice all reach for it.
Il faut partir, il faut que tu partes, il me faut deux minutes. — We have to go, you have to go, I need two minutes.
How to spot it
Everything hangs on what follows il faut. An infinitive gives a general rule; que plus a subjunctive names the person; a noun turns the sentence into needing something, with the person marked by me, te, lui, nous, vous or leur.
- Il faut manger plus de légumes. — You should eat more vegetables.
- Il faut que je parte maintenant. — I have to leave now.
- Il me faut une heure pour y aller. — I need an hour to get there.
- Il ne faut pas toucher. — You mustn't touch.
Il faut is not the third person of a normal verb. There is no je faux or nous fallons: this verb has exactly one person, and it isn't a person at all.
Falloir Quick Reference
The structures il faut appears in
| Structure | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| il faut + infinitive | one must, you have to (general) | il faut réfléchir — you have to think |
| il faut que + subjunctive | someone specific must | il faut qu'il vienne — he has to come |
| il faut + noun | something is needed | il faut du courage — courage is needed |
| il me faut + noun | I need | il me faut deux jours — I need two days |
| il ne faut pas + infinitive | you must not | il ne faut pas crier — you mustn't shout |
| il faudrait | we ought to (polite) | il faudrait vérifier — we should check |
| il a fallu | it was necessary, we had to | il a fallu attendre — we had to wait |
| comme il faut | properly, as one should | assieds-toi comme il faut — sit properly |
Common Falloir Examples in French
Falloir across its uses:
General Obligation
- Il faut composter son billet.
- You have to validate your ticket.
- Il faut être patient avec lui.
- You have to be patient with him.
- Il faut voir le film en entier.
- You need to watch the whole film.
- Il faut bien vivre.
- One has to make a living.
With an infinitive, the obligation applies to everybody, which is why this is the form used on signs and in instructions.
Obligation on a Named Person
- Il faut que tu me rappelles.
- You need to call me back.
- Il faut qu'elle sache la vérité.
- She has to know the truth.
- Il faut que nous soyons à l'heure.
- We have to be on time.
- Il faudra qu'ils prennent une décision.
- They'll have to make a decision.
Everything after que goes into the subjunctive: parte, sache, soyons, prennent.
Needing Something
- Il me faut une clé de douze.
- I need a twelve millimetre spanner.
- Il nous faut plus de temps.
- We need more time.
- Il te faut du repos.
- You need rest.
- Combien vous faut-il ?
- How much do you need?
The person needing something is an indirect object: il me faut, il lui faut, il leur faut.
Prohibition and Advice
- Il ne faut pas s'inquiéter.
- There's no need to worry.
- Il ne faut jamais dire jamais.
- You should never say never.
- Il faudrait lui en parler.
- We ought to mention it to him.
- Il aurait fallu réserver plus tôt.
- We should have booked earlier.
The conditional il faudrait is the standard way to give advice without sounding like you're issuing an order.
How Falloir Works
One form, three structures, and one negation that means something stronger than you might expect.
There Is Only Il Faut
Falloir cannot be conjugated for a person. To say who is obliged, you either add que plus a subjunctive clause or switch verbs entirely and use devoir.
Il faut que je travaille ce soir.
I have to work this evening.
No je faut. Ever.
Que Brings the Subjunctive
Necessity is by definition not yet a fact, and French marks that with the subjunctive. Il faut que tu viennes, il faut qu'elle fasse attention, il faut que nous ayons du temps.
Il faut que vous fassiez attention.
You need to be careful.
il faut que + subjunctive, always.
With a Noun, Falloir Means Need
Il faut plus a noun states what is required: il faut de la patience. Add an indirect pronoun and you name who requires it: il me faut de la patience, I need patience.
Il lui faut une signature du directeur.
He needs a signature from the director.
il me / te / lui faut + noun.
Il Ne Faut Pas Means Must Not
This is the trap. Negating il faut does not produce don't have to; it produces must not. To say something isn't necessary, French uses il n'est pas nécessaire de or ce n'est pas la peine de.
Il ne faut pas ouvrir cette porte.
You must not open this door.
il ne faut pas = prohibition.
The Tenses Behave Normally
Only the form is limited, not the range: il fallait for a past state, il a fallu for a past event, il faudra for the future, il faudrait for advice, il aurait fallu for regret.
Il a fallu attendre deux heures.
We had to wait two hours.
faut, fallait, a fallu, faudra, faudrait.
Common Mistakes with Falloir
Incorrect: Je faut partir. — I have to leave.
Correct: Il faut que je parte. — I have to leave.
Falloir has no personal forms at all. To attach the obligation to yourself, use il faut que plus the subjunctive, or switch to devoir: je dois partir.
Incorrect: Il faut que tu viens. — You have to come.
Correct: Il faut que tu viennes. — You have to come.
Il faut que is one of the most reliable subjunctive triggers in French. Viens is the indicative; the subjunctive is viennes.
Incorrect: Il ne faut pas venir si tu es occupé. — You don't have to come if you're busy.
Correct: Tu n'es pas obligé de venir si tu es occupé. — You don't have to come if you're busy.
Il ne faut pas venir means you are forbidden to come. For the absence of obligation, French needs n'être pas obligé de or ce n'est pas la peine de.
Incorrect: Il a fallu que nous sommes partis. — We had to leave.
Correct: Il a fallu que nous partions. — We had to leave.
Changing the tense of falloir doesn't change the mood after que. The clause stays subjunctive whatever tense il faut is in.
Falloir Conjugated
The dashes below are the point of the table: falloir genuinely has no other persons. What it does have is a full set of tenses in that one slot.
One person only
This is the whole present tense of falloir. Nothing has been left out.
| Pronoun | présent | imparfait | futur |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | — | — | — |
| tu | — | — | — |
| il | il faut | il fallait | il faudra |
| nous | — | — | — |
| vous | — | — | — |
| ils / elles | — | — | — |
The future stem is faudr-, which it shares with valoir (il vaudra) and vouloir (je voudrai).
Every tense of il faut
Learning falloir means learning this column. Each form is used constantly, and the conditional and past conditional carry most of the politeness.
| Pronoun | forme | sens |
|---|---|---|
| présent | il faut | we have to, one must |
| imparfait | il fallait | we had to, it was necessary (ongoing) |
| passé composé | il a fallu | we had to (and did) |
| plus-que-parfait | il avait fallu | it had been necessary |
| futur | il faudra | we'll have to |
| conditionnel | il faudrait | we ought to, we should |
| conditionnel passé | il aurait fallu | we should have |
| subjonctif | qu'il faille | that it should be necessary |
Falloir takes avoir in compound tenses, and the participle fallu never changes: il a fallu, il avait fallu.
Il Me Faut, Il Ne Faut Pas, and Comme Il Faut
Three structures where falloir does something a dictionary entry for must wouldn't prepare you for.
Il me faut: needing something
With an indirect pronoun and a noun, falloir becomes a verb of need. The thing needed follows directly; the person needing it is me, te, lui, nous, vous or leur.
- Il me faut du sucre pour le gâteau.
- I need sugar for the cake.
- Il lui faut une nouvelle carte.
- He needs a new card.
- Il nous faudra deux voitures.
- We'll need two cars.
- Il te faut combien de temps ?
- How much time do you need?
Avoir besoin de is the everyday alternative: j'ai besoin de sucre. Il me faut sounds slightly more urgent.
Il ne faut pas: prohibition, not absence of obligation
The negative of il faut forbids. To say that something isn't required, French changes structure entirely.
- Il ne faut pas mentir.
- You mustn't lie.
- Il ne faut pas en parler.
- It's not to be talked about.
- Ce n'est pas la peine de venir.
- There's no need to come.
- Tu n'es pas obligé de répondre.
- You don't have to answer.
The last two are the real equivalents of you don't have to. Il ne faut pas venir means don't come.
Comme il faut and s'en falloir
Two fixed expressions. Comme il faut means properly or as it should be; s'en falloir de expresses how narrowly something was missed.
- Fais-le comme il faut.
- Do it properly.
- C'est une famille très comme il faut.
- They're a very respectable family.
- Il s'en est fallu de peu.
- It was a close call.
- Il s'en faut de trois euros.
- We're three euros short.
S'en falloir is impersonal too, and the de introduces the size of the gap: il s'en est fallu de quelques secondes.
Falloir FAQs
- What does il faut mean in French?
- It is necessary, or in practice you have to and we must. Il faut partir means we need to go; il faut que tu partes aims the same obligation specifically at you.
- Why does il faut que take the subjunctive?
- Because what is required hasn't happened yet, so it isn't being reported as a fact. French marks that unrealised status with the subjunctive: il faut que tu viennes, il faut qu'il fasse attention.
- What are the other tenses of falloir?
- Il fallait, il a fallu, il avait fallu, il faudra, il faudrait, il aurait fallu, and the subjunctive qu'il faille. Every one of them exists only in that single impersonal form.
- Does il ne faut pas mean 'you don't have to'?
- No, it means you must not. Il ne faut pas fumer is a prohibition. To say something isn't necessary, use tu n'es pas obligé de or ce n'est pas la peine de.
- What's the difference between il faut and je dois?
- Il faut is impersonal and presents the necessity as coming from the situation; je dois attributes the obligation to a person. Devoir can also mean must in the sense of probably (il doit être malade), which falloir never does.