Son/Sa/Ses or Notre/Nos with Il faut

Richard D.B1Kwiziq community member

Son/Sa/Ses or Notre/Nos with Il faut

Hello,

The lesson states the possessive adjectives son, sa or ses should be used with il faut, and notre/nos / votre/vos are never used. 

In the quiz, "Il faut faire nos valises immédiatement." was listed as a correct answer to the question "How could you say "We must pack immediately." ?".

Shouldn't it be "Il faut faire ses valises immédiatement"?

Asked 8 months ago
CélineKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Richard,

In the example you mentioned (from this lesson Expressing necessity and obligation in French with "il faut"), its English translation is "we must pack immediately". Here, you are referring to a specific person, i.e. "we". So, you need to use the possessive pronoun "nos".

Il faut faire nos valises = We must pack

However, if you'd refer to people in general,i.e. "one", you would use the impersonal possessive pronoun "ses":

Il faut faire ses valises = One must pack

Take another look at the lesson below:

Expressing necessity and obligation in French with "il faut"

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Gilbert Charles J.C1Kwiziq community member

"il faut" is an impersonal verb phrase in French, often used to express necessity, obligation, or need. The phrase "il faut" translates to "it is necessary" or "one must" in English and does not change according to the subject. It remains "il faut" regardless of who the subject is or what the number or gender of the noun is. So I could also say: "Il faut faire vos valises..."

There is no rule in French grammar that mandates the use of only the possessive adjectives "son," "sa," or "ses" with the impersonal construction "il faut."

Richard D. asked:

Son/Sa/Ses or Notre/Nos with Il faut

Hello,

The lesson states the possessive adjectives son, sa or ses should be used with il faut, and notre/nos / votre/vos are never used. 

In the quiz, "Il faut faire nos valises immédiatement." was listed as a correct answer to the question "How could you say "We must pack immediately." ?".

Shouldn't it be "Il faut faire ses valises immédiatement"?

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