falloir

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French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old French faloir, from an earlier falleir, from a changing of Old French faillir after its third person singular, faut, earlier falt (from Latin fallit), based off the model of valoir. Faillir derives in turn from Vulgar Latin *fallīre, from Latin fallere, fallō. Compare Franco-Provençal falêr from a similar development in Old Franco-Provençal.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /fa.lwaʁ/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -waʁ

Verb

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falloir (defective)

  1. (impersonal) to need, have to, to be necessary (that)
    Il faut que j’y aille
    I need to go.
    Faut que j’y aille.
    Got to go.
    Il ne faut pas que tu dises ça.
    You don’t have to say that.
    Il a tout ce qu’il te faut.
    He has everything that you need.
    • 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Altas, Sceptre:
      Et si vous nuisez à ma réputation, eh bien, il faudra que je ruine la vôtre.
      And if you ruin my reputation, well, I'll have to ruin yours.
  2. to take (time)
    Synonym: (informal) prendre
    • 2020, Vincent Furnelle, Le paysage et son double, page 23:
      Il leur a fallu des années pour obtenir le permis de bâtir, des années encore pour faire les travaux, qui sont encore en cours.
      It took them years to obtain the building permit, and years more to do the work, which is still ongoing.
    • 2018, Jacques Travers, La Divine Espionne: La mystérieuse Combattante de l'Ombre, page 288:
      Elle doit quitter Peenemünde vers vingt-deux heures car elle doit mettre en place un essai pour le lendemain et il ne devrait pas lui falloir plus d’une heure et demie pour arriver à Hambourg.
      She has to leave Peenemünde [a site for military research and development during World War II] around ten o’clock because she has to set up an experiment for the next day, and it shouldn’t take her more than an hour and a half to get to Hamburg.
    • 1943, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince:
      Il me fallut longtemps pour comprendre d’où il venait.
      It took me a long time to understand where he came from.
  3. (reflexive, with en) to be missing
    Note: For related usage, see s'en falloir.

Conjugation

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This verb is defective, only conjugated in the third-person singular. This verb is impersonal and is conjugated only in the third-person singular.

This verb is defective, only conjugated in the third-person singular. This verb is impersonal and is conjugated only in the third-person singular.

Derived terms

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See also

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References

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Further reading

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