Language/French/Grammar/The-use-of-devoir

Lesson: The Subjunctive, Modal Verbs, Exclamatives, and Imperatives - The Use of Devoir, Pouvoir, Savoir, Falloir

Devoir, pouvoir, savoir, and falloir are important French verbs that can be used with the subjunctive mood to express doubt, possibility, uncertainty, and subjectivity. In this lesson, we will explore the use of these verbs in conjunction with the subjunctive mood.

Devoir

Devoir is a modal verb that can be used with the subjunctive to express obligation, probability, or conjecture in a subjective manner.

For example:

• Il faut que tu ailles au supermarché. (You need to go to the supermarket.)
• Il est possible que tu sois en retard. (It's possible that you are late.)
• Je doute qu'il vienne demain. (I doubt that he will come tomorrow.)
• Il se peut que nous ayons besoin d'aide. (We may need help.)
• Il est peu probable que vous puissiez venir. (It's unlikely that you can come.)
• Il est supposé que vous finissiez le travail aujourd'hui. (You are supposed to finish the work today.)

In each of these sentences, devoir is used with the subjunctive to express obligation, probability, or conjecture in a subjective manner.

Pouvoir

Pouvoir is a modal verb that can be used with the subjunctive to express a hypothetical situation, or to express doubt or uncertainty.

For example:

• Si j'avais plus d'argent, je pourrais voyager. (If I had more money, I could travel.)
• Il est possible que tu puisses venir demain. (It's possible that you can come tomorrow.)
• Je doute qu'il puisse aider. (I doubt that he can help.)
• Il se peut que nous puissions résoudre le problème. (We may be able to solve the problem.)
• Il est peu probable que vous puissiez réussir sans aide. (It's unlikely that you can succeed without help.)

In each of these sentences, pouvoir is used with the subjunctive to express a hypothetical situation, or to express doubt or uncertainty.

Savoir

Savoir is a verb that can be used with the subjunctive to express doubt or uncertainty, or to express a hypothetical situation.

For example:

• Je ne sais pas que tu sois là. (I don't know if you are there.)
• Il est possible que tu saches où se trouve la clé. (It's possible that you know where the key is.)
• Je doute qu'il sache comment faire. (I doubt that he knows how to do it.)
• Il se peut que nous sachions la réponse. (We may know the answer.)
• Il est peu probable que vous sachiez tout sur le sujet. (It's unlikely that you know everything about the subject.)

In each of these sentences, savoir is used with the subjunctive to express doubt or uncertainty, or to express a hypothetical situation.

Falloir

Falloir is a verb that can be used with the subjunctive to express necessity or obligation.

For example:

• Il faut que tu ailles voir le médecin. (You need to go see the doctor.)
• Il est nécessaire que vous fassiez des économies. (It is necessary that you save money.)
• Il est urgent qu'il trouve un emploi. (It is urgent that he finds a job.)
• Il est indispensable que nous nous mettions d'accord. (It is essential that we come to an agreement.)

In each of these sentences, falloir is used with the subjunctive to express necessity or obligation.

Practice Exercises

Here are some practice exercises to test your understanding of the use of devoir, pouvoir, savoir, falloir with the subjunctive:

• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the subjunctive mood: Il est important que tu _______ (venir) immédiatement.
• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the subjunctive mood: Nous doutons qu'il _______ (pouvoir) nous aider.
• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the subjunctive mood: Il faut que tu _______ (savoir) quoi faire.
• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the subjunctive mood: Il est peu probable que nous _______ (pouvoir) résoudre ce problème seuls.
• Rewrite the following sentence using the subjunctive mood: "Il est possible que je puisse vous aider."

Answers:

1. viennes
2. puisse
3. saches
4. puissions
5. Il est possible que je puisse vous aider. (Rewritten: Il se peut que je puisse vous aider.)
6. Conclusion

In conclusion, devoir, pouvoir, savoir, and falloir are important French verbs that can be used with the subjunctive mood to express doubt, possibility, uncertainty, and subjectivity. By using the subjunctive with these verbs, you can convey a wide range of attitudes towards events in French. Practicing the use of these verbs with the subjunctive is essential to mastering French grammar and communication skills.

Exclamatives and Imperatives

Exclamatives and imperatives are two other types of sentences that can be used to convey urgency, importance, or surprise.

Exclamatives are sentences that express strong emotions, such as surprise, joy, anger, or frustration. They are usually formed by starting the sentence with "que" and using the subjunctive mood.

For example:

• Que tu sois ici ! (How great that you are here!)
• Que cela soit vrai ! (Let it be true!)
• Que Dieu nous protège ! (God protect us!)
• Que le temps passe vite ! (How time flies!)

Imperatives are sentences that give commands, orders, or instructions. They are formed by using the present tense of the verb, and are usually expressed in the second person (tu, vous).

For example:

• Viens ici ! (Come here!)
• Ferme la porte ! (Close the door!)
• Écoute-moi bien ! (Listen to me carefully!)
• Allez-y ! (Go ahead!)

Imperatives can also be used with the subjunctive mood to express a sense of urgency or importance.

For example:

• Que tu ailles chercher de l'eau ! (Go and fetch some water!)
• Qu'elle vienne tout de suite ! (She must come right away!)
• Que vous restiez ici ! (Stay here!)

Practice Exercises

Here are some practice exercises to test your understanding of exclamatives and imperatives:

• Rewrite the following sentence as an exclamation using the subjunctive: "Il est incroyable qu'il soit là !"
• Rewrite the following sentence as an imperative: "Tu dois partir maintenant."
• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the imperative: _______ à la maison ! (Come home!)
• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the subjunctive: Il faut que vous _______ votre travail à temps. (You must finish your work on time.)

Answers:

1. Qu'il soit là, c'est incroyable !
2. Pars maintenant !
3. Viens
4. finissiez
5. Conclusion

In conclusion, exclamatives and imperatives are important elements of French grammar that can be used to convey urgency, importance, or surprise. By using the subjunctive with these sentence types, you can add a greater sense of subjectivity or uncertainty to your communication. Practicing the use of exclamatives and imperatives with the subjunctive is essential to mastering French grammar and communication skills.

Table of Contents

Nouns

• Types
• Gender
• Plural

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Determiners

• Articles
• Typical use of the definite article
• Typical use of the indefinite article
• The partitive article: du, de l', de la, des
• Use of indefinite and partitive articles after the negative forms ne... pas, ne... jamais, ne... plus, ne... guère
• Omission of the article
• Demonstrative determiners
• Possessive determiners

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Personal and impersonal pronouns

• Subject pronouns
• Object pronouns
• Stressed pronouns
• Demonstrative pronouns
• Possessive pronouns

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Adjectives

• Adjectives modifying the noun
• Adjectives which follow verbs or verbal expressions
• Adjectives with complements
• Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements
• Adjectives used as nouns
• Adjectives used as adverbs
• Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives
• Plural forms of adjectives
• Adjective agreement with nouns
• Invariable adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives
• Subjunctive versus indicative in clauses dependent on a superlative adjective
• Absolute use of the superlative

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Adverbs

• Function of adverbs
• Formation of adverbs with the ending -ment
• Adjectives used as adverbs without addition of -ment
• Phrases used as adverbs
• English and French adverb formation
• Types of adverbs
• Location of adverbs

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Numbers, measurements, time and quantifiers

• Cardinal numbers
• Ordinal numbers
• Fractions
• Some differences in the use of cardinal and ordinal numbers in French and English
• Measurements and comparisons
• Dates, days, years
• Clock time
• Money
• Quantifiers

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Verb forms

• Conjugations
• Easy ways of generating some parts of the paradigms
• Changes in the stem form of some -er conjugation verbs
• Verbs whose stems end in c- or g-
• Verb paradigms

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Verb constructions

• Relations between verbs and their complements
• Intransitive constructions
• Directly transitive verbs
• Indirectly transitive verbs
• Ditransitive verbs
• The passive
• Pronominal verbs
• Impersonal verbs
• Verbs which take noun + adjective or noun + noun complements

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Verb and participle agreement

• Subject-verb agreement
• Agreement of the past participle with the subject of être
• Agreement of the past participle of verbs conjugated with avoir with a preceding direct object
• Agreement of the past participle of pronominal verbs in compound tenses

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Tense

• The present
• The past
• The future
• Other tenses indicating the time at which events occur relative to other events
• Combining tenses
• Tenses in direct and reported descriptions of events
• Tenses with si

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The subjunctive, modal verbs, exclamatives and imperatives

• The attitude of the subject to events: the subjunctive
• The use of devoir, pouvoir, savoir, falloir
• The French equivalents of the English modal verbs: 'would', 'should', 'could', 'may', 'might', 'ought to', and 'must'
• Exclamatives
• Imperatives

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The infinitive

• Introduction: what are infinitives?
• Infinitives as complements to other verbs
• Verbs which take infinitive complements without a linking preposition
• Verbs which take infinitive complements preceded by the preposition à
• Verbs which take an infinitive complement preceded by de
• Omission of objects before infinitives
• Infinitives as complements to adjectives
• Infinitives as complements to nouns
• Infinitives in subordinate clauses
• Infinitives as polite commands
• Quick-reference index to verbs taking infinitive complements

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Prepositions

• Introduction
• Prepositions listed alphabetically from à to vers
• French translations for common English prepositions

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Question formation

• Introduction
• Yes/no questions
• Information questions
• Order of object pronouns in questions involving inversion
• Order of negative particles in questions involving inversion
• Use of question words and phrases: qui?, que?, quoi?, quel?, de qui?, avec combien de? etc.
• Indirect questions

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Relative clauses

• Introduction
• Use of relative qui
• Use of relative que
• Preposition plus qui
• Use of lequel in relative clauses
• Use of dont, de qui, duquel/de laquelle/desquels/desquelles
• The use of où as a relative pronoun
• Use of relative quoi
• Free relative clauses and the use of ce qui, ce que, ce dont, ce à quoi, ce sur quoi, etc.
• Translating 'whoever', 'whatever', 'wherever', 'whenever', 'however'
• Indicative and subjunctive in relative clauses

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Negation

• Introduction
• Location of sentence negators
• Order of negators in multiple negation
• Omission of ne in sentence negation
• Order of negative elements in questions and imperatives
• ne... pas
• ne... que
• ne... aucun(e), ne... nul(le)
• ne... jamais
• ne... plus
• ne... guère
• ne... rien
• ne... personne
• ne... ni... ni
• sans used with other negators
• ne used alone

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Conjunctions and other linking constructions

• Introduction
• Coordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions
• Conjunctions sometimes confused by English speakers
• Repeated subordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions used with infinitive clauses
• après avoir/ être + past participle linking an infinitive clause to a main clause
• Past participle phrases used as linkers
• Present participles and gerunds

Other Lessons

• il or ça alternating with clauses or infinitives as subjects
• Use of neutral le where no equivalent exists in English
• Differences in the use of numbers in French and English once twice
• me, te, se, nous, vous as part of certain verbs but with no specific meaning
• Non agreement of direct object numerals with coûter, peser and mesurer
• Plurals in cardinal numbers
• Restrictions on possible combinations
• Pronominal verbs used reflexively
• y and en as an integral part of the verb structure
• Use of soi