Devoir Conjugation in French
devoir means “to must, to owe” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 12 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about having to leave early tomorrow, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of devoir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je dois partir tôt demain tous les jours.” — “I must leave early tomorrow every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: devoir
- English: to must, to owe
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle
- Gerund: devant
- Past participle: dû
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -ir verbs; pattern ir2 in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for devoir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read devoir in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about devoir
- It is irregular in 10 tense(s): present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle dû. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is devant and the participle is dû: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for devoir. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dois |
| tu | dois |
| il/elle | doit |
| nous | devons |
| vous | devez |
| ils/elles | doivent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With devoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je dois faire mes devoirs tous les jours.” — “I must do my homework every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dus |
| tu | dus |
| il/elle | dut |
| nous | dûmes |
| vous | dûtes |
| ils/elles | durent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With devoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu dus faire mes devoirs hier.” — “You had to do my homework yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | devais |
| tu | devais |
| il/elle | devait |
| nous | devions |
| vous | deviez |
| ils/elles | devaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il devait faire mes devoirs autrefois.” — “He used to must do my homework in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | devrai |
| tu | devras |
| il/elle | devra |
| nous | devrons |
| vous | devrez |
| ils/elles | devront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. With devoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je devrai faire mes devoirs demain.” — “I will must do my homework tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | devrais |
| tu | devrais |
| il/elle | devrait |
| nous | devrions |
| vous | devriez |
| ils/elles | devraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With devoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu devrais faire mes devoirs un jour.” — “You would must do my homework one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai dû |
| tu | as dû |
| il/elle | a dû |
| nous | avons dû |
| vous | avez dû |
| ils/elles | ont dû |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a dû faire mes devoirs cette semaine.” — “He has had to do my homework this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais dû |
| tu | avais dû |
| il/elle | avait dû |
| nous | avions dû |
| vous | aviez dû |
| ils/elles | avaient dû |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais dû faire mes devoirs avant la fête.” — “I had had to do my homework before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai dû |
| tu | auras dû |
| il/elle | aura dû |
| nous | aurons dû |
| vous | aurez dû |
| ils/elles | auront dû |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras dû faire mes devoirs pour demain.” — “You will have had to do my homework by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais dû |
| tu | aurais dû |
| il/elle | aurait dû |
| nous | aurions dû |
| vous | auriez dû |
| ils/elles | auraient dû |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait dû faire mes devoirs hier.” — “He would have had to do my homework yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | doive |
| tu | doives |
| il/elle | doive |
| nous | devions |
| vous | deviez |
| ils/elles | doivent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With devoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je doive faire mes devoirs.” — “It is important that I must do my homework.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dusse |
| tu | dusses |
| il/elle | dût |
| nous | dussions |
| vous | dussiez |
| ils/elles | dussent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. With devoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que tu dusses faire mes devoirs.” — “It is important that you must do my homework.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | dois |
| nous | devons |
| vous | devez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With devoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Dois faire mes devoirs !” — “Must do my homework!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | dois |
| nous | devons |
| vous | devez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With devoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne dois pas faire mes devoirs.” — “Do not must do my homework.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en devant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En devant partir tôt demain, je passe un bon moment.” — “While having to leave early tomorrow, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | dû |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai dû partir tôt demain cette semaine.” — “I have had to leave early tomorrow this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with devoir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je dois partir tôt demain tous les jours.” — “I must leave early tomorrow every day.”
- “Tu dus faire mes devoirs hier.” — “You had to do my homework yesterday.”
- “Il devait aller chez le médecin autrefois.” — “He used to must go to the doctor in the past.”
- “Je devrai partir tôt demain demain.” — “I will must leave early tomorrow tomorrow.”
- “Tu devrais faire mes devoirs un jour.” — “You would must do my homework one day.”
- “Il a dû aller chez le médecin cette semaine.” — “He has had to go to the doctor this week.”
- “J'avais dû partir tôt demain avant la fête.” — “I had had to leave early tomorrow before the party.”
- “Tu auras dû faire mes devoirs pour demain.” — “You will have had to do my homework by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il doive aller chez le médecin.” — “It is important that he must go to the doctor.”
- “Dois partir tôt demain !” — “Must leave early tomorrow!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je devoir partir tôt demain.”
✓ Right: “Je dois partir tôt demain.”
The infinitive devoir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form dois.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je doivent partir tôt demain.”
✓ Right: “Je dois partir tôt demain.”
doivent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with dois.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je dus partir tôt demain tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je dois partir tôt demain tous les jours.”
The passé simple dus describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present dois.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je dois partir tôt demain.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je doive partir tôt demain.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use doive here, not the indicative dois.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis dû partir tôt demain.”
✓ Right: “Je ai dû partir tôt demain.”
The passé composé of devoir is formed with avoir plus the past participle dû: the je form is ai dû. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “dois” written without its accent
✓ Right: “dois”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on devoir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of devoir in the Present indicative?
- A) devez
- B) dois
- C) doit
- D) devons
What is the il/elle form of devoir in the Passé simple?
- A) dus
- B) dûmes
- C) dûtes
- D) dut
What is the nous form of devoir in the Imperfect?
- A) devions
- B) devais
- C) devait
- D) deviez
What is the tu form of devoir in the Future?
- A) devrai
- B) devra
- C) devrons
- D) devras
What is the je form of devoir in the Conditional?
- A) devrions
- B) devriez
- C) devrais
- D) devrait
What is the il/elle form of devoir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a dû
- B) ai dû
- C) as dû
- D) avons dû
What is the il/elle form of devoir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) deviez
- B) doive
- C) doives
- D) devions
What is the je form of devoir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) dusse
- B) dusses
- C) dût
- D) dussions
What is the gerund of devoir?
- A) en donnant
- B) en trouvant
- C) en parlant
- D) en devant
What does devoir mean in English?
- A) to find
- B) to speak
- C) to must, to owe
- D) to give
Answer key
- B) dois — the je form of devoir in the Present indicative is dois. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) dut — the il/elle form of devoir in the Passé simple is dut. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) devions — the nous form of devoir in the Imperfect is devions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) devras — the tu form of devoir in the Future is devras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) devrais — the je form of devoir in the Conditional is devrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) a dû — the il/elle form of devoir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a dû. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) doive — the il/elle form of devoir in the Present subjunctive is doive. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) dusse — the je form of devoir in the Imperfect subjunctive is dusse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en devant — the gerund of devoir is en devant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to must, to owe — devoir means “to must, to owe” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does devoir mean in English?
devoir means “to must, to owe”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is devoir regular or irregular?
devoir is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. The gerund is devant and the past participle is dû.
What are the gerund and past participle of devoir?
The gerund is devant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is dû — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai dû.
Which auxiliary does devoir take in the passé composé?
devoir takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai dû. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle dû.
How do I say “I must” in French?
Say “Je dois partir tôt demain tous les jours.” — “I must leave early tomorrow every day.” The je form of the present is dois, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of devoir — every tense of devoir in one place.
- Devoir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Devoir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Donner conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Trouver conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Parler conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise devoir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise devoir with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise devoir with the interactive tool.