# must not / don't have to



## Erin_R

Hello,

I know that in French the verb "*devoir*" is mostly used for both the verb "*must*" and "*have to*" in English. 

However, after a conversation today I'm wondering if it can really be used all the time. Someone offered to do me a favour, and I wanted to reply *"no, it's all right, you don't have to do that".* I said *"vous ne devez pas faire ça".* Is that correct, or does it sound more like an order - *"you mustn't do that", ie "don't do that"* ? 

Thanks for any advice you can give me. 

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads have been merged to create this one. See also the thread about the positive phrase must / have to.


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## OlivierG

Hi, Therese 
Indeed, it sounds a bit like an order. Instead, you could say "vous n'avez pas besoin de faire ça", or "ce n'est pas la peine de faire ça".


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## Qcumber

therese_sligo said:


> However, after a conversation today I'm wondering if it can really be used all the time. Someone offered to do me a favour, and I wanted to reply *"no, it's all right, you don't have to do that".* I said *"vous ne devez pas faire ça".* Is that correct, or does it sound more like an order - *"you mustn't do that", ie "don't do that"* ?


 
It all depends on the context.

Basically *have to* if for permanent / standing / repeated obligations, while *must* is for punctual ones, or at least expressed as such.

*I have to go to the bank every Monday.*
*I don't have to go to the bank every Monday. Once a month is enough.*

*I'm awfully sorry, I must cancel my subscription because I've been made redundant.*
[Apparently this form has no negation.]


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## Starcreator

As far as I know, in the negative, you could have responded with the expression "avoir à" as well. Ne vous en faites pas, vous n'avez pas à faire cela!


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## curly

I'm having trouble finding what structure is used to make the distinction between you don't have to,  and you must not?
I take tu ne dois pas courir à la maison to mean you must not run in the house, a command that you should obey. But how would you say you don't have to run in the house?

Merci d'avance


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## Marie-Christine

tu n'as pas à courir à la maison??????


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## BMR

It depends on the context.
Sometimes : _you must not = you don't have to_.
You can say :
_tu n'as pas à courir (= tu ne dois pas courir)
tu n'as pas besoin de courir
tu n'avais pas à courir (= tu n'avais pas besoin de courir)
_But the meanings are different and depends on the context.


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## curly

Hello again, 

I've just realised that I have the same problem with il faut, do "il ne faut pas que tu fasses" et "il faut que tu ne fasses pas" mean "It's not necessary that you do" and "it's necessary that you do not" respectively?


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## Vegas

You sure*ly* wanted to say : Tu ne dois pas courir *dans* la maison !

"Il faut que tu ne fasses pas" is wrong
"Il ne faut pas que tu fasses" is right


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## curly

I see, how would you said that it's not necessary to run, in a sense that you can if you want to but it's not necessary?


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## pheelineerie

curly said:


> I see, how would you said that it's not necessary to run, in a sense that you can if you want to but it's not necessary?




This is one of the things I always wondered about and never found the answer to. I deal with it by saying "Tu n'es pas obligé de..." but it's just not the same as "You don't have to..." is it?


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## Vegas

I'd say : Tu n'es pas obligé de courir dans la maison
or "Nous ne sommes pas dans un stade, ici, tu n'es pas obligé de courir".


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## curly

Well no, but it looks pretty similar Would Tu es obligé de ne faire pas qqc be right to say you are obligated you have no choice you must not do this?


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## Vegas

"Tu es obligé de ne faire pas qqc"  
It isn't correct in french.

If you want to say "you are oligated", "you have no choice ", you have to write : "Tu es obligé de [...]", or "Tu dois faire [...]", or "Il faut que tu fasses [...]"
But if you want to say : "you must not do this", you have to write : "Tu n'es pas obligé de".

"Tu n'es pas obligé de [...]" has not the same meaning that "Il ne faut pas que tu fasses [...]
"Tu n'es pas obligé de [...] means that you have a choice.
"Il ne faut pas que tu fasses [...]" means "Don't do that"


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## Aupick

'You don't have to' can often be translated by '(il est) inutile de'. Here's a variation found on my milk bottle: 

'Grâce à la microfiltration, il est inutile de faire bouillir ce lait.'


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## pheelineerie

Vegas said:


> But if you want to say : "you must not do this", you have to write : "Tu n'es pas obligé de".


 
I think you mean:

You must not do this = il ne faut pas que tu fasses... (interdiction)
You don't have to do this = tu n'es pas obligé de... (choix)


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## radagasty

Is it ever possible to have a negation in a _que _clause after _falloir_ or an infinitival clause after either _falloir_ or _devoir_? E.g., _il faut que tu ne le fasses pas _or _tu dois ne pas le faire_, etc.?


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## Amylee812

[…] "Don't have to" expressing for me the absence of necessity whereas "mustn't" is according to me used for what is forbidden. […]


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## genevois

Hi everyone,

In the sentence below, I want to say "I don't have to pass by your office", but I fear it could also mean I must not. 

Veuillez me confirmer que ce message suffit déjà et que je *ne dois pas* passer à votre bureau pour vous donner les documents ci-joint.

What do you think?

Merci d'avance.


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## dewsy

... et que je n'aurai pas à passer....


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## Pedro y La Torre

In this case, _don't have to_ means it's not neccessary so I would say

Il ne faut pas passer à...


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## enJoanet

hi!
ce que dit dewsy est bon..
on pourrait aussi dore : que je n'aurai pas besoin de...


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## genevois

Merci beaucoup !!!

So "je *ne dois pas" *means "I must not"?


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## enJoanet

I think so...


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## polaire

Amylee812 said:


> "Don't have to" expressing for me the absence of necessity whereas *"mustn't" is according to me used for what is forbidden.*


"Mustn't" is a fairly weak form of expressing that which is forbidden and usually is used with children.

"You mustn't do that! You know what your mother said."

Formal:

"You must not do that.  You know what the company policy states."

Much more common:

"You can't do that!  You know it's against the rules."

"You're not allowed to do that!  You know it's against the rules."


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## jshayden

Firstly, thanks to all contributors for the extremely helpful information on this forum.  It has helped me many times.

On to my question ...

I've searched the forums and come across this question, but no one really gave a thorough answer in the past.  "I must" and "I have to" have the same meaning, but "I must not" and "I don't have to" have very different meanings.  What is the proper way to say the latter in French?

"I have to ..." = "I must ..." = "I am required to ..." = "Je dois ..."
"I must not ..." = "I am *required not to* ..." = "Je ne dois pas ..."
"I do not have to ..." = "I am *not required to* ..." = ???

Do the French also use "have to"—"Je n'ai pas <infinitive>"—or do they stick to something more formal like "Je ne suis pas obligé ..."?

Thanks in advance!

Josh


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## Elior

Oui, on peut très bien traduire "I don't have to" par "Je n'ai pas à". C'est une formule très courante.


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## jshayden

Elior said:


> Oui, on peut très bien traduire "I don't have to" par "Je n'ai pas à". C'est une formule très courante.



Merci, Eloir.

Then, by the same token, is the following correct:

"I must ..." = "I have to ..." = "J'ai à ..." ?


Thanks, again.

Josh


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## Elior

On ne dit pas "J'ai à...". Ce n'est pas faux, mais ce n'est jamais employé. Dans ce cas, on dit plutôt "Je dois (+ infinitif)" ou "Il faut que je (+ subjonctif)".


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## Seeda

_You mustn't eat it all_ = tu ne dois pas tout manger
_You don't have to eat it all_ = tu n'es pas obligé de tout manger


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## jshayden

@Elior: Thanks so much for the concise explanation.  I appreciate it.

@Seeda: I knew about "ne [être] pas obligé", but I was wondering if there was a less formal way to say it, similar to "don't have to" in English.  Thanks so much for your input.

Josh


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## Seeda

"Obliged" is formal in English, but _obligé _in French isn't. You can use it in everyday life, that's very usual


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