Obligation and Necessity

There are many French words and expressions related to obligation and necessity. Learn how to say it’s my duty, to have no choice, to be obliged, whether you like it or not, and more French expressions of obligation and necessity.

Verbs and expressions followed by the infinitive

avoir besoin de
to have to

avoir le devoir de*
to have the duty of

avoir le triste devoir de*
to have the sad duty of, to regret to

devoir
must, to have to, to be supposed to

être censé faire quelque chose
to be meant/supposed to do something

être forcé à
to have to

être obligé de, se trouver obligé de
to have to, to be obliged to

être de son devoir de
to be one’s duty to

falloir
to be necessary to

Il est indispensable de
It’s indispensable to

Il est nécessaire de
It’s necessary to

Il est obligatoire de
It’s mandatory to

Il me faut
I need to

Il m’incombe de*
It falls to me to

Il revient à moi de
It falls to me to

mettre quelqu’un dans l’obligation/la nécessité de faire
to compel someone to do something

ne pas pouvoir faire autrement que de
to have no choice but to

obliger quelqu’un à 
to require someone to

se voir contraint de*
to be compelled to

se voir dans l’obligation de*
to be obliged to

*These expressions are very formal and are usually written, not spoken

Verbs and expressions followed by the subjunctive

demander que
to ask that

exiger que
to insist that

falloir que
to be necessary that

il est obligatoire que
it’s mandatory that

il est nécessaire que
it’s necessary that

il est indispensable que
it’s essential that

il faut que
it is necessary that

Adjectives related to obligation and necessity

absolument
absolutely, really

au pis aller
worst-case scenario, if worst comes to worst

bon gré, mal gré
whether you like it or not

en aucun cas (with a negative statement)
no matter what happens

en tout cas
in any case, whatever happens

impérativement
imperatively, really

surtout
above all

vraiment
really