--- title: "Falloir conjugation: all tenses with examples" description: "Falloir in every French tense: il faut, il a fallu, il faudra, qu'il faille. Full tables, examples and TCF/TEF Canada tips." canonical: https://francaisprep.com/french-conjugation/falloir --- French conjugation # Falloir conjugation Falloir (“to be necessary (il faut)”) in every tense you need, from the présent to the subjonctif, with example sentences and how it shows up in the TCF and TEF Canada. [Take the free level test](/tools/french-level-test)[See the tables](#tables) - Every tense on one page - Tables generated from an open French lexicon - Notes for TCF and TEF candidates ![Adèle, the native French teacher who runs Français Prep](/_next/image?url=%2Fadele.png&w=3840&q=75) Adèle SasonNative French teacher - every class, every correction In short Falloir (“to be necessary (il faut)”) is an irregular verb of the third group. In the présent: il faut. Its passé composé is formed with avoir and the past participle fallu, and its futur simple is built on the stem faudr-. ## Falloir at a glance Meaning to be necessary (il faut) Type Irregular verb (third group) Auxiliary avoir Past participle fallu Present participle not used Future stem faudr- ## Falloir in every tense ### Présent Present - il faut [When to use the présent](/blog/french-verb-tenses-for-tcf-tef) ### Passé composé Compound past - il a fallu [When to use the passé composé](/blog/passe-compose-vs-imparfait) ### Imparfait Imperfect - il fallait [When to use the imparfait](/blog/passe-compose-vs-imparfait) ### Futur simple Simple future - il faudra [When to use the futur simple](/blog/french-verb-tenses-for-tcf-tef) ### Conditionnel présent Present conditional - il faudrait [When to use the conditionnel présent](/blog/french-verb-tenses-for-tcf-tef) ### Subjonctif présent Present subjunctive - qu'il faille [When to use the subjonctif présent](/blog/le-subjonctif) ### Impératif Imperative Falloir has no imperative. ### Passé simple (literary) Simple past, used in written narrative - il fallut ### Participles Present and past participles - Present participle: not used - Past participle: fallu TCF and TEF Canada ## How falloir shows up in the TCF and TEF Falloir only exists with il. « Il faut que » is the most frequent subjunctive trigger in the writing tasks, and « il faudrait » is a polite way to make a recommendation. - Il faut une pièce d'identité pour s'inscrire. _You need an ID to register._ - Il faudrait que la mairie ouvre plus tard le samedi. _The town hall should open later on Saturdays._ ## From conjugation tables to an exam score Knowing the forms of falloir is the easy part. The TCF and TEF Canada mark whether you use the right tense, under time pressure, in your own sentences. - Check your level The [free French level test](/tools/french-level-test) tells you where you stand before you plan your preparation. - Prepare the exam The [TCF Canada course](/tcf-canada-course) works on grammar inside real writing and speaking tasks, with marked feedback. - Talk to a teacher [Book a free 15-minute call](/book) with Adèle to find out what to work on first. Questions ## Falloir conjugation: questions ### How do you conjugate falloir in the present tense? In the présent, falloir is: il faut. ### What is the passé composé of falloir? Falloir forms the passé composé with avoir and the past participle fallu: il a fallu. ### Is falloir conjugated with être or avoir? Falloir takes avoir in the passé composé and the other compound tenses: il a fallu. ### What is falloir in the futur simple? The futur simple of falloir is built on the stem faudr-: il faudra. ### What is the imperfect of falloir? The imparfait of falloir is: il fallait. ### What is the subjunctive of falloir? The subjonctif présent of falloir is: qu'il faille. ### What is falloir in the passé simple? The passé simple is a literary tense you will read in narratives and biographies but rarely need to write. For falloir: il fallut. ### What is the imperative of falloir? Falloir has no imperative. ### What is the past participle of falloir? The past participle of falloir is fallu, and its present participle is not used. ## More French verbs - [être](/french-conjugation/etre) - [avoir](/french-conjugation/avoir) - [aller](/french-conjugation/aller) - [faire](/french-conjugation/faire) - [dire](/french-conjugation/dire) - [pouvoir](/french-conjugation/pouvoir) - [vouloir](/french-conjugation/vouloir) - [devoir](/french-conjugation/devoir) [All 64 verbs](/french-conjugation) Conjugation tables are generated from the Lefff (Lexique des formes fléchies du français, Benoît Sagot, Inria), packaged as french-verbs-lefff@3.4.0 and distributed under the [LGPL-LR licence](https://www.labri.fr/perso/clement/lefff/licence-LGPLLR.html). Compound forms are built from its auxiliary and participle forms. Next step ## Preparing for the TCF or TEF Canada? Tell Adèle your exam date and where your French is today. She will tell you honestly what to work on first. [Book a free call](/book)[See the course](/tcf-canada-course) --- For agents: site index https://francaisprep.com/llms.txt, developer access https://francaisprep.com/developers, and TCF or TEF to NCLC conversion over a plain GET at https://api.francaisprep.com/v1/score/convert?exam=tcf_canada&listening=512&reading=470&writing=12&speaking=11 (exam is tcf_canada or tef_canada).