French "Devoir" Question?

Question

I know that devoir when used as a verb means "have to" or "must". But i found a problem when using the interogative forms of this verb, because "dont have to" and "mustn't" mean different things. So, is the interogative form of devoir equivalent to "dont have to" or "mustn't?"

Answer 1

The interrogative form of devoir cannot be equivalent to “don’t have to” or “mustn’t” since those are negative forms!

I have to do this = Je dois faire ça.
I must do this = Je dois faire ça.
I don’t have to do this = I may choose not to to this = Je ne suis pas obligé(e) de faire ça.
I mustn’t do this = I should not do this = Je ne dois pas faire ça (if I think I should not do it)
I cannot do it = Je ne peux pas faire ça.
Should I do this? = Est-ce que je dois faire ça? (I am asking for your advice if I should do it or not)
Must I do this? = Est-ce que je dois faire ça? (I am asking if I have to do it or can I get away with not doing it)

Answer 2

I speak Finnish, French and English, I will write the same thing in all three languages to show you:

Hello, My name is Neil. I am a boy who plays guitar and writes and reads books.

Bonjour, Je m'apelle Neil. Je suis un garcon qui jouer de guitar et ecrire et lire le livre.

Moi, Nimeni on Neil. Olen Poika joka soittaa kitaraa ja kirjoittaa ja lukee kirjoia.

Impressive isn't it? ;-)

Answer 3

it is observed as a "French" kiss for precisely the comparable reason human beings used to declare "Excuse my French" whilst they used "vulgarities". united statesa. became very puritanical and the Victorian English particularly without delay-laced whilst, via assessment, the French aristocracy became unquestionably decadent.

Answer 4

You are almost there for the french version ;) It's actually :

Bonjour, je m'appelle Neil. Je suis un garçon qui joue de la guitare, écris et lis des livres.

"Don't have to" translations :

Don't I have to...? = Ne dois-je pas...?
Don't you have to...? (singular) = Ne dois-tu pas..?
Doesn't he have to...? = Ne doit-il pas...?
Don't we have to...? = Ne devons-nous pas...?
Don't you have to...? (plural) = Ne devez-vous pas...?
Don't they have to...? = Ne doivent-ils pas...?

"Mustn't" translations :

Mustn't I...? = Ne dois-je pas...?
Mustn't you...? (singular) = Ne dois-tu pas..?
Mustn't he...? = Ne doit-il pas...?
Mustn't we...? = Ne devons-nous pas...?
Mustn't you...? (plural) = Ne devez-vous pas...?
Mustn't they...? = Ne doivent-ils pas...?

As you can see, both are alright... but the meaning of "devoir" isn't clear when used that way in french. You could add other words like "absolument" or "vraiment" to specify that it means must instead of have to... ex.: "Ne dois-je pas absolument...?"

This link might help you out :

http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/devoir.htm

Answer 5

ne devez-vous pas...?it's mustn't

Answer 6

she's right !