How to say words like “can,” “might,” “should,” “would,” and “must,” in French?

To translate English words like “can,” “might,” “should,” “would,” “must,” into French, you will need to use French modal verbs in the appropriate tense, impersonal expressions, or French adverbs. Modal verbs indicate whether an action is likely to happen (may, might, could, will) or is supposed to happen (should, ought to, must), and more, depending on the tense they are conjugated in. The modal verbs in French are vouloir(to want), pouvoir(can), savoir(to know), devoir(must), and falloir(need).

In this article, we will cover how we can use modals, adverbs, and impersonal expressions in French to express doubt, obligation, advice, as well as how to use the English short answers “do,” “did,” “will,” and “would” in French!

Expressing levels of doubt, obligation, and advice in French is a little different from English, because you will have to use the appropriate tenses or adverbs. While sometimes you can easily translate ideas from English to French, with modals, you’ll really need to distance yourself from English and understand how French people think! You will see in this article that you can sometimes be more accurate in English when expressing doubt, possibility, obligation, or necessity. You will also learn that some English expressions have no equivalent in French. Feeling puzzled? Let’s get into it! We’ll start by looking at how to express doubt, possibility, and certainty.

There is no direct equivalent to the short English answers “do,” “did,” “will,” and “would,” so you will often have to use or repeat a modal verb. My students are sometimes puzzled when they want to translate English expressions that don’t have an equivalent in French. Although “should” can be translated with devoir in the conditional present tense, “did,” “will,” and “would” is trickier.

Let’s examine “I would!” Out of context, it would be impossible to translate into French. And even in context, you can not be as concise as in English. This is when you start thinking in French! Let’s play with this! Imagine the following conversation:

• Do you think I should tell her?

• I would.

• I will, then

Are you ready?! In French:

• Tu penses que je devrais lui en parler ?

• Moi, je lui en parlerais.

  Use the verb (in the previous question) in the conditional present.

• Je lui en parlerai alors.

  Use the same verb in the future tense.

Let’s try this with “did” and “will.” A common mistake is to use faire to translate “did.” Remember, “did” only indicates that the action is in the past; “did” is semantically empty (meaning the following verb is being omitted and is just implied). Imagine this new conversation:

• I called her.

• You did or you will?

• I did.

But, in French, this cannot happen:

• Je l’ai appelée.

• Tu l’as appelée ou tu vas l’appeler ?

• Je l’ai appelée.

You are all set! Look below for a review of the most important points

When you want to express some kind of doubt, obligation, or advice in French, there’s a few things you may want to keep in mind:

• Some English modals can be translated into French with verbs followed by an infinitive. (“I must” = je dois, “I ought to, should” = je devrais, “I might, I may, I could” = je pourrais)

• Adverbs are a great alternative to express probability and doubt. Peut-être (pas) is a very useful one!

• Impersonal phrases followed by the subjunctive like Il faut que(<=> necessity) or Il se peut que (<=> possibility) are another alternative for modals.

• “I will, I would, I did, I do” does not have an equivalent in French. You need a verb conjugated in the appropriate tenses. Depending on the context, oui or non may be enough.

• “Would” is a tricky modal to translate into French. Depending on the context, you’ll have the present conditional ("I would go" = J’irais) or the imperfect (“I would study” = J’étudiais).

Now it is time to practice! Here are some activities to practice expressing doubt, obligation, and advice in French!