Falloir

to be necessary, must

3rd group, impersonal verb, auxiliary avoir, past participle fallu.

  • Only with il

    Falloir has no other subject: il faut, il fallait, il faudra.

  • No imperative

    The verb falloir has no imperative.

Newbie

Enough to talk about the present, the past, and the future.

  1. Présent

    What is happening now, habits, and general truths.

    1. il faut
    « Il faut partir tôt. »
    English translation: We have to leave early.

  2. Passé composé

    The everyday past for a finished action.

    1. il a fallu
    « Il a fallu attendre. »
    English translation: We had to wait.

  3. Futur proche

    The spoken future for plans and near events.

    1. il va falloir
    « Il va falloir choisir. »
    English translation: We are going to have to choose.
BeginnerTo tell a story, describe the past, make plans, and ask politely.Imparfait · Passé récent · Futur simple · Conditionnel présentAlso show the 4 Beginner tenses

  1. Imparfait

    Past habits, descriptions, and ongoing background.

    1. il fallait
    « Il fallait réserver à l’avance. »
    English translation: We had to book in advance.

  2. Passé récent

    Something that has just happened: venir de plus the infinitive.

    1. il vient de falloir

  3. Futur simple

    What will happen later, including promises and predictions.

    1. il faudra
    « Il faudra revenir demain. »
    English translation: We will have to come back tomorrow.

  4. Conditionnel présent

    Polite requests, wishes, and hypotheses: “would …”.

    1. il faudrait
    « Il faudrait vérifier. »
    English translation: We should check.
IntermediateTo add nuance: wishes, doubts, regrets, and the order of events.Plus-que-parfait · Futur antérieur · Conditionnel passé · Subjonctif présent · Subjonctif passéAlso show the 5 Intermediate tenses

  1. Plus-que-parfait

    A past action completed before another past action.

    1. il avait fallu

  2. Futur antérieur

    An action finished before a future moment: “will have …”.

    1. il aura fallu

  3. Conditionnel passé

    Regrets and hypotheses that never happened: “would have …”.

    1. il aurait fallu

  4. Subjonctif présent

    After necessity, wishes, emotion, doubt, or conjunctions like bien que.

    1. qu’il faille

  5. Subjonctif passé

    Subjunctive for an action already completed.

    1. qu’il ait fallu
AdvancedThe tenses of written French, mostly to recognize when reading.Passé simple · Passé antérieur · Subjonctif imparfait · Plus-que-parfait du subjonctif · Conditionnel passé 2ᵉ formeAlso show the 5 Advanced tenses

  1. Passé simple

    The written narrative past: novels, history, and fairy tales.

    1. il fallut

  2. Passé antérieur

    A literary action completed immediately before another past action.

    1. il eut fallu

  3. Subjonctif imparfait

    Literary subjunctive used inside past-tense narration.

    1. qu’il fallût

  4. Plus-que-parfait du subjonctif

    Literary subjunctive for an action completed before another.

    1. qu’il eût fallu

  5. Conditionnel passé 2ᵉ forme

    Literary variant of the past conditional, matching the pluperfect subjunctive.

    1. il eût fallu