Falloir conjugation French verb
Falloir is an impersonal verb that only exists with il: il faut means "it is necessary", "one must" or "you need". It is followed by an infinitive (Il faut partir), by que + subjunctive (Il faut que je parte), or by a noun for what is needed (Il me faut deux jours). Compound tenses take avoir: il a fallu.
- to be necessary; to have to; to need
- irregular
- Past participle: fallu
- Auxiliary: avoir
Falloir in the Présent (present): il faut.
Indicative (indicatif)
Présent present
| — |
| — |
| il faut |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Passé composé past / present perfect
| — |
| — |
| il a fallu |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Imparfait imperfect
| — |
| — |
| il fallait |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Futur simple future
| — |
| — |
| il faudra |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Plus-que-parfait past perfect
| — |
| — |
| il avait fallu |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Passé simple simple past (written)
| — |
| — |
| il fallut |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Futur antérieur future perfect
| — |
| — |
| il aura fallu |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Conditional (conditionnel)
Conditionnel présent present conditional
| — |
| — |
| il faudrait |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Conditionnel passé past conditional
| — |
| — |
| il aurait fallu |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Subjunctive (subjonctif)
Subjonctif présent present subjunctive
| — |
| — |
| qu'il faille |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Subjonctif passé past subjunctive
| — |
| — |
| qu'il ait fallu |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Subjonctif imparfait imperfect subjunctive (literary)
| — |
| — |
| qu'il fallût |
| — |
| — |
| — |
How falloir conjugates
Because falloir is impersonal, you only learn one form per tense: il faut (present), il fallait (imparfait), il a fallu (passé composé), il faudra (future), il faudrait (conditional) and qu'il faille (subjunctive). The future and conditional use the stem faudr-. There is no imperative and no ils form. To say who has to do something, add an indirect pronoun (Il me faut, Il nous faudra) or use que + subjunctive. In the negative, il ne faut pas means "you must not", not "you don't have to".
Falloir in example sentences
- Présent
Il faut envoyer le rapport avant dix-sept heures.
The report has to be sent before 5 p.m.
- Passé composé
Il a fallu tout recommencer après la panne informatique.
We had to start everything over after the IT outage.
- Conditionnel présent
Il faudrait prévenir le client du retard de livraison.
We should let the client know about the delivery delay.
- Plus-que-parfait
Il avait fallu trois mois pour obtenir le permis de construire.
It had taken three months to get the building permit.
- Conditionnel passé
Il aurait fallu nous prévenir plus tôt.
You should have told us sooner.
- Futur antérieur
En tout, il aura fallu deux ans pour terminer le chantier.
All told, it will have taken two years to finish the construction.
- Subjonctif passé
Je suis désolé qu'il ait fallu annuler la réunion.
I'm sorry the meeting had to be canceled.
- Passé composé
Il nous a fallu une heure pour trouver une place de parking.
It took us an hour to find a parking spot.
Common phrases with falloir
- il faut + infinitive
- one must; you have to; it is necessary to
- il faut que + subjunctive
- someone has to (Il faut que tu viennes)
- il me / te / nous faut + noun
- I / you / we need (Il me faut un stylo)
- comme il faut
- properly; the right way
- il ne faut pas
- you must not (a prohibition)
Mistakes to avoid
- Reading il ne faut pas as "you don't have to"; it means "you must not". For "you don't have to", say tu n'es pas obligé de or ce n'est pas la peine de.
- Conjugating falloir with other subjects: je faut does not exist; use il faut que je... or je dois.
- Following il faut que with the indicative: say il faut que je parte, not que je pars.
Quiz: conjugate falloir
Pick the right form for each person and tense.
Related verbs
Most common French verbs
Know your verbs, now find your level
Take a free placement test and get your CEFR level, then follow the grammar lessons that fit it.