devoir
to have to, mustIrregularਇਹ ਕਿਰਿਆ ਨਿਯਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਮੰਨਦੀ — ਹਰ ਰੂਪ ਵੱਖਰਾ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਨਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
| Person | Presentnow, habits | Passé composécompleted past | Imparfaitongoing past | Futur procheabout to | Futur simplewill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | doissounds the same as another form in this tense | ai dû | devaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais devoir | devraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | doissounds the same as another form in this tense | as dûsounds the same as another form in this tense | devaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas devoirsounds the same as another form in this tense | devrassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | doitsounds the same as another form in this tense | a dûsounds the same as another form in this tense | devaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va devoirsounds the same as another form in this tense | devrasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | devons | avons dû | devions | allons devoir | devronssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | devez | avez dû | deviez | allez devoir | devrezsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | doivent | ont dû | devaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont devoir | devrontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. dois covers both "I have to, must" and "I am have to, musting" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and dû does not — ai dû.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so devons gives you devais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; devoir never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on devr- — not the infinitive devoir. The conditional reuses this stem.
What this table tells you about devoir
The past participle is dû, and it takes avoir in the passé composé — so it never changes shape, whoever the subject is. No agreement to remember here.
The futur simple is built on devr-, which is not the infinitive devoir. This stem has to be learned, and it is the same one the conditional uses later.
In the present, je, tu and il/elle are one sound: dois, doit — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous, vous and ils/elles carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know devons you already know devais, devait and devaient. Futur proche keeps devoir untouched.