Obligation and Necessity
French Expressions
There are many French words and expressions related to obligation and necessity.
| Expressions followed by the infinitive | |
| avoir besoin de | to have to |
| avoir le (triste) devoir de* | to have the (sad) duty of, (to regret to) |
| devoir | must, to have to, to be supposed to |
| être censé | to be meant/supposed to |
| être forcé à | to have to |
| être obligé de, se trouver obligé de | to have to, to be obliged to |
| être de son devoir de | to be one's duty to |
| Il est indispensible de | It's indispensible to |
| Il est nécessaire de | It's necessary to |
| Il est obligatoire de | It's mandatory to |
| Il me faut | I need to |
| Il m'incombe de* | It falls to me to |
| Il revient à moi de | It falls to me to |
| mettre qn dans l'obligation/la nécessité de faire | to compel s.o. to do s.t. |
| ne pas pouvoir faire autrement que de | to have no choice but to |
| obliger qqun à | to require s.o. to |
| se voir contraint de* | to be compelled to |
| se voir dans l'obligation de* | to be obliged to |
| * These expressions are very formal and are usually written, not spoken | |
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Expressions followed by the subjunctive |
|
| demander que | to ask that |
| exiger que | to insist that |
| il est obligatoire que | it's mandatory that |
| il est nécessaire que | it's necessary that |
| il est indispensable que | it's essential that |
| il faut que | it is necessary that |
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Adjectives related to obligation and necessity |
|
| absolument | absolutely, really |
| au pis aller | worst-case scenario, if worst comes to worst |
| bon gré, mal gré | whether you like it or not |
| en aucun cas (with a negative statement) | no matter what happens |
| en tout cas | in any case, whatever happens |
| impérativement | imperatively, really |
| surtout | above all |
| vraiment | really |
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