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Falloir — to be necessary (must) | French Verb Chart

📶 CEFR level: A2

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« falloir » — jump to your level:A1A2B1B2C1C2Native

📚 This is the overview. « falloir » is taught level by level — pick your CEFR level below for a full lesson (explanation, pronunciation, exercises & games).

French Verb Chartlearnfrench.co
Falloir›to be necessary (must)
🗼

Present

  • il fautone must / it is necessary

Passé composé

  • il a falluit was necessary

Imperfect

  • il fallaitit was necessary

Future

  • il faudrait will be necessary

Conditional

  • il faudraitit would be necessary / one should

Subjunctive

  • qu’il faillethat it be necessary
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🎬 The 20-second version

Five phrases with « falloir » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →

📘 How to use Falloir

  • Impersonal & defective: falloir exists ONLY in the il form — there is no « je faux » etc. « il » here means « it », not a person.
  • Il faut + infinitive = one must (general): il faut manger. Il faut que + subjonctif = someone must: il faut que tu partes.
  • Il faut + noun = it takes / one needs: il faut du courage. Il me faut = I need: il me faut deux jours.

🔑 Key forms

Participe passéfallu (avoir)
Gérondif— (none)
Impératif— (impersonal, no imperative)
Good to knowThe single most useful « must » verb in French. « Il ne faut pas » = you MUST NOT (not « you don’t have to »!).

🔊 Common expressions

Il faut y aller.We have to go.
Il faut que je parte.I have to leave.
Il ne faut pas s’inquiéter.You mustn’t worry.
Il faudrait réserver.We should book.

🔊 Example sentences

Il faut réviser avant l’examen.You need to revise before the exam.
Il fallait le dire plus tôt !You should have said so earlier!
Il faudra du temps.It will take time.

✍️ Practice

must + infinitive (general) = il ___ + inf (present)

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faut

il faut que + which mood? (subordinate)

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subjonctif

it would be necessary / one should = il ___ (conditional)

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faudrait

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🎯 More practice — translation — put it into French

Translate into French: « We have to go. » (translation)

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Il faut y aller.

Translate into French: « I have to leave. » (translation)

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Il faut que je parte.

Translate into French: « You mustn’t worry. » (translation)

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Il ne faut pas s’inquiéter.

Translate into French: « We should book. » (translation)

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Il faudrait réserver.

Translate into French: « You need to revise before the exam. » (translation)

Show answer

Il faut réviser avant l’examen.

📖

Go further: How to learn French verbs — the pattern system.

Falloir conjugation FAQ

What is the present tense of falloir?

il faut. Full charts for every tense are above, each form with audio.

What is the past participle of falloir?

fallu — the passé composé is « il a fallu ». Falloir uses avoir as its auxiliary verb.

How do you say falloir in the future tense?

« il faudra » — the future stem never changes across persons, only the endings do.

What does falloir mean in English?

to be necessary (must). It is one of the essential French verbs — drill the present first, then the passé composé; those two tenses carry most conversations.

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🎬 All seven CEFR levels, end to end

« falloir » at every CEFR level — the tense, its forms and the mechanic that makes it stick. Practise it with the free games →

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