French conjugation explanation
Past participle of "devoir"

<p>The verb

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/fra/devoir/" title="Click to see conjugations for devoir" target="_blank">devoir</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic;">to have to, to owe</span>) exhibits a unique spelling irregularity in its

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/34/" target="_blank">Past Participle</a>

form.</p>

<p>The masculine singular form takes a <strong>circumflex accent</strong> (<span class="green_emphasis">dû</span>). This accent is purely indispensable to distinguish the verb form from the common partitive article <span class="brown_emphasis">du</span> (the contraction of <span style="font-style: italic;">de + le</span>).</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">The Disappearing Accent</div>

<p>Because the circumflex serves only a visual purpose to avoid confusion with the short word <span style="font-style: italic;">du</span>, it <strong>disappears</strong> in the feminine and plural forms. In these forms, the spelling is naturally distinct (<span style="font-style: italic;">due</span> vs. <span style="font-style: italic;">du</span>), so the accent is no longer necessary.</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div>Masculine Singular: <span class="green_emphasis">dû</span> (Keep the accent)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>Feminine Singular: <span class="green_emphasis">due</span> (Drop the accent)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>Masculine Plural: <span class="green_emphasis">dus</span> (Drop the accent)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>Feminine Plural: <span class="green_emphasis">dues</span> (Drop the accent)</div>

</li>

</ul>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Usage in Compound Tenses</div>

<p>When used in the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/81/" target="_blank">Compound Past</a>

(Passé composé), the past participle usually remains invariable (masculine singular) because it does not agree with the subject when used with the auxiliary <span style="font-style: italic;">avoir</span>. Therefore, you will most frequently see the form with the accent.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">J'ai <span class="green_emphasis">dû</span> partir plus tôt. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I had to leave earlier.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Elle a <span class="green_emphasis">dû</span> oublier ses clés. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She must have forgotten her keys.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Usage as "Owed" (Agreement)</div>

<p>When <span style="font-style: italic;">dû</span> is used as an adjective or noun indicating something that is "owed" or "due", it follows standard agreement rules. This is where you must be careful to drop the accent.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">La somme <span class="green_emphasis">due</span> est importante. (<span style="font-style: italic;">The sum owed is significant.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(Feminine singular: the accent is dropped.)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Il a payé les taxes <span class="green_emphasis">dues</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">He paid the taxes owed.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(Feminine plural: the accent is dropped.)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Visual Comparison</div>

<p>The circumflex allows you to instantly distinguish the verb from the article within a sentence:</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Il a <span class="green_emphasis">dû</span> manger <span class="brown_emphasis">du</span> poisson. (<span style="font-style: italic;">He had to eat some fish.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">Note the contrast between the verb (<span style="font-style: italic;">dû</span>) and the partitive article (<span style="font-style: italic;">du</span>).</div>

<p>In the following tables, note how the past participle appears in the conjugation:</p>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/34/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Participe passé</a>

</div>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/81/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Passé composé</a>

</div>

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">as dû<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">a dû<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

nous

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avons dû<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

vous

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avez dû<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

ils

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">ont dû<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

French conjugation explanation Past participle of "devoir"

French conjugation explanation
Past participle of "devoir"