French Passive Voice with Modals: Can, Must, Should
Learn to form French passive sentences with pouvoir, devoir and other modals, so you can say things like 'The form must be signed' accurately.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
In French, the passive voice is formed with être plus a past participle, and the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. When you add a modal such as pouvoir (can), devoir (must) or the conditional of devoir (should), the modal is conjugated and the infinitive être follows it. This lets you express obligation, permission, possibility or advice in the passive: Le formulaire doit être signé. This lesson focuses on these modal passive structures, their agreement rules, and when French speakers prefer them over active alternatives.
By the end, you can…
- form passive sentences in French using pouvoir, devoir and the conditional of devoir.
- make the past participle agree correctly with the subject in modal passive sentences.
- choose between a modal passive and a more natural active alternative in French.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Le formulaire doit être signé.
The form must be signed.
luh for-mee-lehr dwah tet ruh see-nyay
Standard written instruction; devoir expresses obligation. Être is the infinitive after the conjugated modal.
Les documents peuvent être envoyés par courriel.
The documents can be sent by email.
lay do-koo-mahn puhv tet ruh ahn-vwah-yay par koo-ryel
Pouvoir expresses possibility or permission. The past participle envoyés agrees with the plural masculine subject documents.
La facture devrait être payée avant vendredi.
The bill should be paid before Friday.
lah fak-tewr duh-vreh tet ruh pay-yay ah-vahn vahn-druh-dee
The conditional devrait softens the obligation into advice or expectation. Payée agrees with the feminine subject facture.
Ces règles doivent être respectées.
These rules must be respected.
say ray-gluh dwahv tet ruh res-pek-tay
Doivent is the third-person plural of devoir. Respectées agrees with the feminine plural subject règles.
Le colis peut être livré demain.
The parcel can be delivered tomorrow.
luh ko-lee puh tet ruh lee-vray duh-man
Peut is the third-person singular of pouvoir. Livré is masculine singular because colis is masculine singular.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is: subject + conjugated modal + être + past participle (+ par + agent). The modal carries the tense and person, while être stays in the infinitive. Examples: La porte doit être fermée. (The door must be closed.) Les invitations peuvent être imprimées. (The invitations can be printed.) La décision devrait être annoncée. (The decision should be announced.) The past participle behaves like an adjective and agrees with the grammatical subject: fermée is feminine singular, imprimées is feminine plural, annoncée is feminine singular. If you need a past tense, put the modal in the past: La porte a dû être fermée. (The door had to be closed.)
When to use it
Use a modal passive when the action matters more than the person doing it, or when the agent is unknown, obvious or unimportant. It is common in rules, instructions, notices and formal writing: Le règlement doit être respecté. (The rules must be respected.) In everyday spoken French, speakers often prefer an active sentence with on: On doit signer le formulaire. (You have to sign the form.) The passive with devoir can sound more impersonal or official, while the conditional devrait often sounds like a recommendation rather than a hard obligation: Le rapport devrait être relu. (The report should be proofread.) Choose the passive when you want to foreground the object or keep the tone formal; choose on when you want a natural conversational tone.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Est-ce que le contrat peut être modifié après la signature ?
Can the contract be changed after signing?es-kuh luh kohn-tra puh tet ruh mo-dee-fyay ah-pray lah see-nya-tewrOui, mais il doit être signé par les deux parties.
Yes, but it must be signed by both parties.wee, may eel dwah tet ruh see-nyay par lay duh par-teeEt la date devrait être indiquée en haut, non ?
And the date should be indicated at the top, right?ay lah dat duh-vreh tet ruh an-dee-kay ahn oh, nohnExact. Les pages doivent aussi être numérotées.
Exactly. The pages must also be numbered.eg-zakt. lay pahzh dwahv oh-see tet ruh new-may-ro-tayA little context goes a long way
In French administrative and professional writing, modal passives are common and carry a neutral, impersonal tone. The conditional devrait is especially useful for polite recommendations in emails and reports, while doit can sound firm or official. In relaxed conversation, French speakers frequently replace the passive with on plus an active verb, so both forms are correct but differ in register.
One thing to watch for
Conjugating être instead of the modal, as in Le formulaire est doit être signé.
Try this instead: Only the modal is conjugated; être remains in the infinitive. Say Le formulaire doit être signé. (The form must be signed.) If you need a past tense, conjugate the modal in the past: Le formulaire a dû être signé. (The form had to be signed.)
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1Translate: 'The windows can be opened.'
Show a sample answer
Les fenêtres peuvent être ouvertes.
Peuvent is the third-person plural of pouvoir, and ouvertes agrees with the feminine plural subject fenêtres. Les fenêtres peuvent s'ouvrir is also possible but changes the focus.
2Translate: 'The letter should be sent today.'
Show a sample answer
La lettre devrait être envoyée aujourd'hui.
Devrait is the conditional of devoir, used for advice or expectation, and envoyée agrees with the feminine singular subject lettre. La lettre devrait partir aujourd'hui is a natural active alternative.
3Correct this sentence: Les décisions doit être prises.
Show a sample answer
Les décisions doivent être prises.
The subject les décisions is third-person plural, so the modal must be doivent, not doit. Prises agrees with the feminine plural subject. In conversation, On doit prendre les décisions is also correct.
Conjugate the modal, keep être in the infinitive, and make the past participle agree with the subject: Le formulaire doit être signé, Les factures peuvent être payées, La décision devrait être annoncée.
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