Modal verbs

A modal verb is a small helper verb that does not usually stand alone — it props up a main verb and tells you the speaker's attitude towards it: obligation (must), ability (can), desire (want) or knowledge (know how to). English does exactly the same thing: in I must go, the word must is a modal and go is the real action.

French has the same idea, and one rule governs all of it:

Conjugate the modal verb to match the subject, and leave the second verb in the infinitive (the to- / dictionary form).

The infinitive in French is the unconjugated form ending in -er, -ir or -re: manger (to eat), finir (to finish), prendre (to take). After a modal, that form never changes.

French	Word-by-word	Natural English
Je veux manger.	I want to-eat	I want to eat.
Tu peux venir.	you can to-come	You can come.
Il doit partir.	he must to-leave	He has to leave.
Nous savons nager.	we know to-swim	We know how to swim.

Notice there is no word for 'to' between the modal and the infinitive in French — the infinitive already contains that idea. So je veux manger is literally "I want eat", and that is correct.

Worked mini-example. Build "We can speak French": choose the modal pouvoir (can), conjugate it for nous → nous pouvons, then add the infinitive parler (to speak). Result: Nous pouvons parler français. The verb parler stays in the infinitive — do not write nous pouvons parlons.

These four verbs are irregular, which means you cannot predict them from a rule — you memorise them. The good news is that they fall into patterns, so learning them as a set is far easier than one at a time.

devoir — to have to / must (also means to owe):

Pronoun	Form	Pronunciation	Example
je	dois	dwa	Je dois partir. — I must leave.
tu	dois	dwa	Tu dois étudier. — You must study.
il/elle	doit	dwa	Elle doit travailler. — She has to work.
nous	devons	duh-VON	Nous devons payer. — We have to pay.
vous	devez	duh-VAY	Vous devez attendre. — You must wait.
ils/elles	doivent	DWAV	Ils doivent finir. — They have to finish.

pouvoir — to be able to / can / may:

Pronoun	Form	Pronunciation	Example
je	peux	puh	Je peux aider. — I can help.
tu	peux	puh	Tu peux venir ? — Can you come?
il/elle	peut	puh	Il peut nager. — He can swim.
nous	pouvons	poo-VON	Nous pouvons rester. — We can stay.
vous	pouvez	poo-VAY	Vous pouvez entrer. — You may come in.
ils/elles	peuvent	PUHV	Elles peuvent danser. — They can dance.

vouloir — to want:

Pronoun	Form	Pronunciation	Example
je	veux	vuh	Je veux manger. — I want to eat.
tu	veux	vuh	Tu veux sortir ? — Do you want to go out?
il/elle	veut	vuh	Elle veut dormir. — She wants to sleep.
nous	voulons	voo-LON	Nous voulons partir. — We want to leave.
vous	voulez	voo-LAY	Vous voulez boire ? — Do you want to drink?
ils/elles	veulent	VUHL	Ils veulent jouer. — They want to play.

savoir — to know (how to):

Pronoun	Form	Pronunciation	Example
je	sais	seh	Je sais nager. — I know how to swim.
tu	sais	seh	Tu sais conduire ? — Can you (know how to) drive?
il/elle	sait	seh	Il sait cuisiner. — He knows how to cook.
nous	savons	sa-VON	Nous savons chanter. — We know how to sing.
vous	savez	sa-VAY	Vous savez danser. — You know how to dance.
ils/elles	savent	SAV	Elles savent skier. — They know how to ski.

Memory hook. For pouvoir and vouloir, the three singular forms (je, tu, il) are peux, peux, peut and veux, veux, veut — same vowel, only the ending changes (-x, -x, -t). Spot the family and you have already learned half the table.

The fifth modal, falloir (to be necessary), is special: it only ever appears in the il form — il faut (it is necessary / one must / you have to). There is no je faux or nous faut — the il here is an empty, impersonal 'it', like the 'it' in English it is raining.

il faut + infinitive is one of the most useful structures in the whole course because it lets you give general advice or state a rule without naming anyone:

French	Literal	Natural English
Il faut manger.	it-is-necessary to-eat	You have to eat. / One must eat.
Il faut travailler dur.	it-is-necessary to-work hard	You must work hard.
Il faut être poli.	it-is-necessary to-be polite	One must be polite.
Il faut réserver une table.	it-is-necessary to-reserve a table	You need to book a table.

Because it is impersonal, il faut covers 'I/you/we/one must' all at once — the context tells you who. It is the natural way to express rules, instructions and advice.

The negative — il ne faut pas means 'must not'. Be careful: il ne faut pas does not mean 'don't need to'; it means 'must not' (it is forbidden):

• Il ne faut pas fumer ici. — You must not smoke here.
• Il ne faut pas être en retard. — You mustn't be late.

If you mean 'don't have to / it's not necessary', use on n'est pas obligé de or il n'est pas nécessaire de.

Worked mini-example. Give the rule "You must wear a uniform". Use il faut + the infinitive porter (to wear): Il faut porter un uniforme. One short, impersonal sentence — perfect for the Writing paper when describing school rules.

English uses 'can' and 'know' loosely, but French splits them — and the exam tests the difference.

savoir vs pouvoir — both can translate as 'can', but they mean different things.

• savoir + infinitive = to know how to do something — a learned skill you possess permanently: Je sais nager (I know how to swim — I have learned this skill).
• pouvoir + infinitive = to be able or allowed to do something — possibility or permission in the moment: Je peux nager (I'm able to swim right now / I'm allowed to swim).

Compare:

• Elle sait conduire. — She knows how to drive (she has a licence / the skill).
• Elle ne peut pas conduire aujourd'hui — elle est malade. — She can't drive today — she's ill (she has the skill, but isn't able right now).

So savoir is about ability you've learned; pouvoir is about whether it's possible or permitted at this moment.

connaître vs savoir — two verbs for 'to know'. This is a classic trap. Both mean 'to know', but:

• connaître = to know / be familiar with a person, place or thing (you can picture it): Je connais Paris (I know Paris), Tu connais ma sœur ? (Do you know my sister?).
• savoir = to know a fact, or to know how to do something: Je sais la réponse (I know the answer), Je sais où il habite (I know where he lives).

A simple test: if you can swap in 'to be familiar with', use connaître. If it's a fact or a skill, use savoir. Note that connaître is never followed by an infinitive — only savoir is.

You want to say	Use	Example
I know how to (skill)	savoir + inf.	Je sais danser. — I know how to dance.
I'm able / allowed to	pouvoir + inf.	Je peux sortir. — I can / may go out.
I know a person/place	connaître + noun	Je connais Marie. — I know Marie.
I know a fact	savoir + clause	Je sais qu'il est tard. — I know it's late.

Worked mini-example. Translate "I know how to cook, but I can't tonight because I'm tired." Skill → savoir: Je sais cuisiner. Possibility → pouvoir: mais je ne peux pas ce soir parce que je suis fatigué(e). Full sentence: Je sais cuisiner, mais je ne peux pas ce soir parce que je suis fatigué(e).

Using je veux (I want) to a waiter or examiner sounds blunt — even rude — in French, just as 'I want a coffee' sounds demanding in English. French has a polite gear: the conditional, which adds the idea of 'would'. You do not need to learn the whole conditional tense for 0520, just a few high-value forms by heart.

The polite phrases to memorise:

Polite form	Meaning	From the blunt form
je voudrais	I would like	je veux (I want)
tu voudrais	you'd like	tu veux
je pourrais	I could / might	je peux (I can)
pourriez-vous… ?	could you…?	pouvez-vous (can you?)
je devrais	I should / ought to	je dois (I must)

These are the courteous engine of the Speaking and Writing papers:

• Je voudrais réserver une table. — I would like to book a table.
• Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît. — I'd like a coffee, please.
• Pourriez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ? — Could you repeat, please?
• Tu devrais te reposer. — You should rest.

Notice je voudrais can be followed by either an infinitive (je voudrais partir — I'd like to leave) or a noun (je voudrais une glace — I'd like an ice cream). It is probably the single most useful phrase in the whole course for sounding natural and polite.

je devrais — gentle advice ('should'). devrais is the conditional of devoir and softens 'must' into 'should / ought to', perfect for giving advice: Vous devriez voir un médecin (You should see a doctor).

Worked mini-example. Turn the blunt Je veux parler au directeur (I want to speak to the director) into a polite request. Swap veux for voudrais: Je voudrais parler au directeur, s'il vous plaît. (I would like to speak to the director, please.) Same meaning, instantly courteous.

To talk about a past obligation, ability or wish, put the modal into the perfect tense (passé composé). All the modal verbs use avoir as their auxiliary, and they have irregular past participles you must learn:

Verb	Past participle	Perfect (je)	Meaning
devoir	dû	j'ai dû	I had to / I must have
pouvoir	pu	j'ai pu	I was able to / I managed to
vouloir	voulu	j'ai voulu	I wanted to
savoir	su	j'ai su	I knew / found out
falloir	fallu	il a fallu	it was necessary

The pattern is: avoir conjugated + past participle of the modal + infinitive of the action:

• J'ai dû partir tôt. — I had to leave early.
• Nous avons pu réserver. — We managed to / were able to book.
• Elle a voulu aider. — She wanted to help.
• Il a fallu attendre une heure. — It was necessary to wait an hour.

Note the accent on dû (past participle of devoir) — the circumflex distinguishes it from du (= 'of the'). Forgetting it is a spelling slip, though context usually makes the meaning clear.

Because these modals take avoir, there is no agreement with the subject for the modal itself — elle a dû, not elle a due.

Worked mini-example. Say "We were able to visit the museum." Auxiliary avoir for nous → nous avons; past participle of pouvoir → pu; infinitive visiter. Result: Nous avons pu visiter le musée. The action verb visiter stays in the infinitive, exactly as in the present.