{"id":11,"date":"2008-09-30T18:01:12","date_gmt":"2008-09-30T22:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=11"},"modified":"2008-09-30T18:01:12","modified_gmt":"2008-09-30T22:01:12","slug":"falloir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/falloir\/","title":{"rendered":"Falloir"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States is famous in Europe for being prohibitive despite its status as a nation of freedom.\u00a0 I have tried again and again to explain to my French and other European friends that one’s freedom in the United States ends when their acts fringe upon another’s freedom.\u00a0 In any case, the French version of freedom is very liberal as compared to American standards.\u00a0 So, let’s discuss a verb that can be used to explain in French the differences in these freedoms…in other words what \u2018is necessary’ and what \u2018must\/mustn’t be done’.\u00a0 This would be the verb falloir<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here is how you conjugate this verb:<\/p>\n

Il faut<\/strong> insister. \u00a0(You must insist.)
\nIl ne faut pas<\/strong> insister.\u00a0 (You must not insist.)<\/p>\n

Hmm…you are thinking, \u2018where are the other conjugations???’\u00a0 Well, falloir <\/em>is an impersonal verb so it is only conjugated in the 3rd person singular.<\/p>\n

So, here are some typical \u2018must nots’ in the United States that my French friends \u2018complain’ about:
\nIl ne faut pas fumer. <\/em>(You must not smoke.)<\/span>
\nIl ne faut pas faire du topless \u00e0 la plage.\u00a0 <\/em>(You must not go topless on the beach.)\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

And here is a typical \u2018must’ in the United States:
\nIl faut avoir 21 ans pour pouvoir boire de l’alcool.\u00a0 <\/em>(You must be 21 to drink alcohol.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conversely, here are some cultural \u2018must nots’ in France:
\nIl ne faut pas parler \u00e0 voix haute en public.\u00a0 <\/em>(You must not speak loudly in public.)<\/span>
\nIl ne faut pas demander des questions personnelles.\u00a0 <\/em>(You must not ask personal questions.)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

And some cultural \u2018musts’ in France:
\nIl faut couper le fromage en parts \u00e9gales.\u00a0 <\/em>(You must cut cheese in equal parts.)<\/span>
\nIl faut donner le bonjour \u00e0 tout le monde.\u00a0 <\/em>(You must say ‘good day’ to everyone.)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

And finally, here are some more useful expressions with falloir<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Un homme comme il faut<\/em> (the right kind of man)
\nIl fallait le dire<\/em> (you should have said so!)
\nIl faut deux heures<\/em> (it takes two hours)
\nIl leur a fallu quatre heures<\/em> (it took them four hours)
\nIl te faut du repos<\/em> (you need some rest)
\nIl ne faut pas se fier \u00e0 cette fille<\/em> (you must not trust this girl)
\nIl s’en faut de cent euros<\/em> (there’s a shortage of a hundred euros)<\/p>\n

Est-ce que vous pensez qu’il faut \u00e9tudier la grammaire pour bien apprendre le fran\u00e7ais?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States is famous in Europe for being prohibitive despite its status as a nation of freedom.\u00a0 I have tried again and again to explain to my French and other European friends that one’s freedom in the United States ends when their acts fringe upon another’s freedom.\u00a0 In any case, the French version of…<\/p>\n

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