il a dû

must have

→ il
phrase Common #2,623
must have Used before an infinitive. In these examples, it expresses a guess or deduction about the past.
FR: Il a dû oublier son téléphone à la maison.
EN: He must have forgotten his phone at home.

Il a dû se passer quelque chose.

Something must have happened.

Il a dû changer de nom.

He had to change his name.

— Arrête-moi si tu peux (2002)

Il a dû tomber.

He must have fallen.

— Faute d'amour (2017)

Il a dû glisser de votre cou.

It must have slipped off your neck.

— Arrête-moi si tu peux (2002)

Le petit pleure, il a dû se faire mal.

The little one is crying, he must have hurt himself.

Il a dû être plus malin que Vizzini.

He must have been smarter than Vizzini.

— Princess Bride (1987)

Il a dû mourir pendant la nuit.

He must have died during the night.

— Le Seigneur des anneaux : Les Deux Tours (2002)

Il a dû quitter la ville, alors il a déménagé à Berlin.

He had to leave the city, so he moved to Berlin.

Il a dû se conformer à sa décision.

He had to comply with his decision.

Il a dû avouer qu'il était responsable de l'erreur.

He had to admit that he was responsible for the mistake.

Il a dû subir de nombreuses épreuves.

He had to endure many trials.

Il a dû encore sauter par-dessus la barrière.

He had to jump over the barrier again.

Il a dû étudier sérieusement l'anglais.

He must have studied English seriously.

Il a dû manquer son train habituel.

He must have missed his usual train.

Il a dû pleuvoir durant la nuit.

It must have rained during the night.

Il a dû retourner en ville à pied, c'est tout.

He must have had to walk back into town, that's all.

— Heureux comme Lazzaro (2018)

Il a dû appeler.

He must have called.

Il a dû se tromper et en prendre un de trop.

He must have made a mistake and taken one too many.

— Titane (2021)

Il a dû déjà envoyer des mecs.

He must have already sent some guys.

Il a dû téléphoner quatre fois chez Tommy.

He had to phone Tommy's house four times.

— Les Affranchis (1990)

Il a dû lui arriver quelque chose en chemin.

Something must have happened to him along the way.

Je l'avais mis dans ma poche, il a dû tomber.

I had put it in my pocket; it must have fallen out.

— L'Accusé (2017)

Mais il a dû mourir avant.

But he must have died before then.

— Interstellar (2014)

Il a dû passer la nuit chez sa sœur.

He must have spent the night at his sister’s.

Je me disais qu'il a dû mourir chargé de haine.

I was thinking that he must have died full of hatred.

— Princesse Mononoké (1997)

Il a dû repasser des examens.

He had to retake some exams.

— The Big Sick (2017)

Il a dû aller au Japon.

He must have gone to Japan.

— Assassination (2015)

Il a dû se passer un truc.

Something must have happened.

— Avengers : Infinity War (2018)

Merde, il a dû tomber aussi.

Damn, he must have fallen too.

— Bullet Train (2022)

Il a dû coûter cher.

He must have been expensive.

— Jean de Florette (1986)

Il a dû tout voir.

He must have seen everything.

— Rebecca (1940)

Il a dû l'envoyer à Paterna.

He must have sent him to Paterna.

— Douleur et gloire (2019)

Il a dû être transporté à l'hôpital.

He had to be taken to the hospital.

Il a dû nous suivre discrètement jusqu'ici.

He must have followed us here without us noticing.

— Old Boy (2003)

Il a dû quitter la ville.

He had to leave town.

Il a dû se décourager.

He must have become discouraged.

— Whiplash (2014)

Il a dû beaucoup me haïr.

He must have hated me a lot.

— Old Boy (2003)

Il a dû t'arriver quelque chose.

Something must have happened to you.

— Trois couleurs : Bleu (1993)

Il a dû faire appel à toute son expérience pour exécuter le plan.

He had to call upon all his experience to execute the plan.

Il a dû être muté au bout du monde.

He had to be transferred to the other side of the world.

— Dans ses yeux (2009)

Il a dû mettre sa montre en gage.

He had to pawn his watch.

Il a dû prendre son avion à la dernière minute.

He had to catch his flight at the last minute.

— Piège de cristal (1988)

Il a dû réduire le prix de ses marchandises.

He had to reduce the price of his goods.

Il a dû avoir peur en voyant ça.

He must have been scared when he saw that.

Il a dû sortir boire des verres avec des copains.

He must have gone out for drinks with some friends.

— A Taxi Driver (2017)

Il a dû emmener ta mère à l'hôpital.

He must have taken your mother to the hospital.

— Marty Supreme (2025)

Il a dû voir mon alliance!

He must have seen my wedding ring!

— Psychose (1960)

Il a dû lui arriver quelque chose.

Something must have happened to him.

Mais il a dû rencontrer quelqu'un et cette personne l'a changé.

But he must have met someone, and that person changed him.

— Your Name. (2016)

Il a dû passer.

He must have passed.

— Faute d'amour (2017)

Il a dû rester là un bon moment.

He must have stayed there for quite a while.

— Caché (2005)

Il a dû aller faire des courses.

He had to go shopping.

Il a dû se remettre de son rhume.

He must have recovered from his cold.

Il a dû découvrir quelque chose par hasard.

He must have discovered something by chance.

Il a dû trouver quelque chose à son goût.

He must have found something to his liking.

Il a dû laisser l'eau couler.

He must have left the water running.

Ça fait neuf ans, il a dû oublier.

It's been nine years, he must have forgotten.

— Le Conformiste (1971)

Il a dû oublier par manque de temps.

He must have forgotten due to a lack of time.

— Quand passent les cigognes (1957)

Il a dû rater son train habituel.

He must have missed his usual train.

Il a dû se faire tuer à son poste.

He must have been killed at his post.

— L’Enfance d’Ivan (1962)

Il a dû changer d'avis.

He must have changed his mind.

Nous ignorons pourquoi il a dû partir.

We don't know why he had to leave.

Il a dû tomber de sa poche.

It must have fallen out of his pocket.

— L'Accusé (2017)

Il a dû faire quelque chose.

He must have done something.

Il a dû être opéré quand il était jeune.

He had to have surgery when he was young.

Il a dû mourir en même temps que ton père.

He must have died at the same time as your father.

— La Guerre des étoiles (1977)

Il a dû pénétrer dans cette pièce.

He must have entered this room.

Il avait un tel mal de tête qu'il a dû annuler la réunion.

He had such a bad headache that he had to cancel the meeting.

Il a dû sauter avec Mark.

He must have jumped with Mark.

— En terrain miné (2014)

Il a dû avoir peur.

He must have been scared.

— Old Boy (2003)

Il a dû sortir.

He had to go out.

Il a dû en avoir assez.

He must have had enough.

Il a dû voir ta gueule.

He must have seen your ugly mug.

— Juno (2007)

Il a dû m'oublier.

He must have forgotten about me.

— L'Empire contre-attaque (1980)

Mais il a dû se tromper.

But he must have been mistaken.

— Le Seigneur des anneaux : Les Deux Tours (2002)

Il a dû payer une amende parce qu'il s'était garé au mauvais endroit.

He had to pay a fine because he had parked in the wrong place.

C'était un médecin militaire, il a dû vouloir l'aider, sans succès.

He was a military doctor; he must have wanted to help him, but without success.

— Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Il a dû rester pour superviser la construction.

He had to stay to supervise the construction.

— Je suis toujours là (2024)

Il a dû annuler son voyage.

He had to cancel his trip.

— Assurance sur la mort (1944)

Il a dû se séparer de sa maison.

He had to part with his house.

Il a dû découvrir quelque chose.

He must have discovered something.

— Psychose (1960)

Il a dû trouver un bien meilleur travail.

He must have found a much better job.

— Parasite (2019)

Il a dû les balancer.

He must have thrown them out.

— Reconnu coupable (2026)

C'est après qu'il a dû partir.

It was afterward that he had to leave.

— Les Choristes (2004)

Mais Vanraj le fera, il a dû apprendre.

But Vanraj will do it, he must have learned.

— Mon cœur est déjà pris (1999)

Il a dû partir vers la droite.

He must have gone to the right.

Et des efforts surhumains qu'il a dû déployer.

And the superhuman efforts he must have made.

— Night Watch (2004)

Il a dû rentrer chez lui.

He had to go home.