Conjugation table
Falloir conjugation: il faut, il fallait, il faudra and il faille
Learn the impersonal forms of falloir across six tenses and moods. Compare il faut partir with il faut que tu partes, then test faut, fallu and faille.
- B1
- 6 tenses
- Auxiliary: avoir
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Falloir expresses necessity and uses only impersonal il: il faut, il a fallu, il fallait, il faudra, il faudrait, qu’il faille. Say il faut partir for “it’s necessary to leave”, or il faut que tu partes for “you need to leave”. Falloir has no imperative.
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Study first: forms and examples
- Infinitive
- falloir
- Past participle
- fallu
- Present participle
- — (not used)
- Auxiliary
- avoir
Présentnow and repeated actions
| il | faut |
Il faut réserver à l’avance.
You need to book in advance.
Passé composécompleted event: present of avoir + participle
| il | a fallu |
Il a fallu changer le programme.
We had to change the programme.
Imparfaitpast habits and background
| il | fallait |
Il fallait prévenir tout le monde.
Everyone needed to be told.
Futur simplewhat will happen
| il | faudra |
Il faudra confirmer avant vendredi.
It will be necessary to confirm before Friday.
Conditionnel présentan imagined result or softer recommendation
| il | faudrait |
Il faudrait vérifier l’heure.
We should check the time.
Subjonctif présentafter necessity, emotion or doubt
| qu’il | faille |
Je suis surprise qu’il faille réserver si tôt.
I’m surprised that booking so early is necessary.
An action, or a person who must act?
Il faut réserver.Booking is necessary.
Focus: the action to do
il faut + infinitive
Il faut confirmer avant midi.
You need to confirm before midday.
Il faut que tu réserves.You need to book.
Focus: the person who must act
il faut que + subject + subjunctive
Il faut que nous confirmions avant midi.
We need to confirm before midday.
The il in il faut refers to nobody. Keep it even when several people need to act: il faut que nous partions. Only the second verb agrees with nous. To name the person who needs something, use an indirect object: il me faut du temps means “I need time”.
Il leur faut une réponse aujourd’hui.
They need an answer today.
What is il faille in French?
Compare il faut que tu réserves and je suis surprise qu’il faille réserver. In the first, faut is indicative and introduces the subjunctive réserves. In the second, the expression of emotion introduces faille, the subjunctive of falloir itself. The infinitive réserver then follows directly.
Does falloir have an imperative?
Falloir has no imperative and no present participle in ordinary use. For a direct instruction, put the action verb in the imperative. For a general requirement, keep il faut + infinitive.
| Requirement | Direct instruction |
|---|---|
| Il faut réserver. | Réservez ! |
| Il faut vérifier l’heure. | Vérifiez l’heure ! |
For a completed necessity, use il a fallu. For a past requirement or background situation, use il fallait. In the future and conditional, the stem is faudr-; the participle fallu stays unchanged.
What mistakes do learners make with falloir?
- Nous faut réserver.Il faut que nous réservions.
Keep impersonal il and put the people after que.
- Il faut que partir.Il faut partir.
An infinitive follows il faut directly; que introduces a subject and a subjunctive verb.
- Il a fallut attendre.Il a fallu attendre.
The past participle is fallu. Fallut belongs to the passé simple.
Recall the forms
Every form belongs to impersonal il. Write only what is missing: for the passé composé, include a as well as the participle.
1 · Keep il: fill in the verb only
- il · présent
- il · passé composé
- il · imparfait
- il · futur simple
- il · conditionnel présent
- qu’il · subjonctif présent
2 · Complete each sentence in the stated tense
- Hier, il attendre une heure. (passé composé)
- Il est étonnant qu’il confirmer deux fois. (subjonctif présent)
- Demain, il prévenir les autres. (futur simple)
- Il que tu vérifies l’heure. (conditionnel présent)