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il ne fallait pas

shouldn't have

→ il
phrase Common #3,388
shouldn't have Used to say that something should not have been done, or that it was unnecessary. With que, it is followed by the subjunctive: il ne fallait pas que je la voie means “I shouldn't have seen her.” In “Merci, il ne fallait pas,” it means “Thanks, you shouldn't have” or “You didn't need to.”
FR: Merci pour le cadeau, il ne fallait pas !
EN: Thanks for the gift—you shouldn't have!

J'ai dit quelque chose qu'il ne fallait pas ?

Did I say something I shouldn't have?

— Le Bateau (1981)

Il ne fallait pas tourner après le buisson.

You shouldn't have turned after the bush.

— Le Miroir (1975)

Il ne fallait pas l'empêcher !

You shouldn't have stopped him!

— Guerre et Paix (1968)

C'est très gentil mais il ne fallait pas.

That’s very kind of you, but you really shouldn’t have.

— In the Mood for Love (2000)

Il ne fallait pas épouser un boulanger Gretchen.

You shouldn't have married a baker, Gretchen.

— Le Tambour (1979)

Il ne fallait pas tourner le dos au reste du monde !

We shouldn't have turned our backs on the rest of the world!

— Black Panther (2018)

Il ne fallait pas me le dire, mais vous l'avez fait.

You weren't supposed to tell me, but you did.

— Atlantide, l'empire perdu (2001)

Ai-je dit quelque chose qu'il ne fallait pas ?

Did I say something I shouldn’t have?

Il ne fallait pas apporter tant de choses.

You shouldn't have brought so many things.

— Mon cœur est déjà pris (1999)

C'est très gentil, mais il ne fallait pas.

That's very kind, but it wasn't necessary.

Mais vous avez fait une chose qu'il ne fallait pas faire.

But you did something you shouldn't have done.

— Bacurau (2019)

Il ne fallait pas venir.

You shouldn't have come.

Comme s'il ne fallait pas accélérer.

As if we shouldn't speed up.

— Il est de retour (2015)

Pour le consoler, je lui ai dit qu'il ne fallait pas penser à Dieu.

To comfort him, I told him he shouldn’t think about God.

— Henry V (1989)

Il ne fallait pas qu'un élève tombe dessus par hasard.

A student wasn't supposed to stumble across it by chance.

— Harry Potter et l'Ordre du Phénix (2007)

Merci, Stanley, il ne fallait pas.

Thank you, Stanley, you shouldn't have.

— Tout sur ma mère (1999)

Alors il ne fallait pas menacer.

Then you shouldn't have threatened me.

— Les Diaboliques (1955)

Il ne fallait pas changer.

There was no need to change.

— Perfect Blue (1998)

Celle-là, il ne fallait pas que je la voie !

I shouldn't have seen that one!

— Aquarius (2016)

Il ne fallait pas voler.

It was wrong to steal.

— The Man From Nowhere (2010)