Yap.Town

ils devaient

had to / were supposed to

→ il
phrase Uncommon #20,628
had to / were supposed to Used for an obligation or expectation in the past.
FR: Ils devaient partir tôt ce matin.
EN: They had to leave early this morning.

Ils devaient vous contacter.

They were supposed to contact you.

— Insaisissables 3 (2025)

Mais ils devaient rester ici.

But they had to stay here.

— L'Empire contre-attaque (1980)

Ils ont appelé le psychiatre et ont demandé ce qu'ils devaient faire.

They called the psychiatrist and asked what they should do.

Ils savaient qu'ils devaient combattre ensemble pour défaire l'ennemi commun.

They knew they had to fight together to defeat their common enemy.

Ils devaient partir ce matin.

They were supposed to leave this morning.

— Maman, j'ai raté l'avion ! (1990)

Ils devaient avoir une clé.

They must have had a key.

— Mystic River (2003)

Ils devaient être en train de lire ou alors ils s'étaient endormis.

They must have been reading, or else they had fallen asleep.

— Die My Love (2025)

Mais ils devaient tous savoir.

But they all had to know.

— Wake Up Dead Man : Une histoire à couteaux tirés (2025)

Le maire commanda aux citoyens comment ils devaient agir.

The mayor ordered the citizens how they should act.

Pour se laisser diviser, ils devaient être bien médiocres.

To let themselves be divided, they must have been quite mediocre.

— Hero (2002)

Ils savaient qu'ils devaient s'échapper.

They knew they had to escape.

Ils devaient remplir ça d'or ?

Were they supposed to fill this with gold?

— Même la pluie (2011)

Ils devaient lire le livre de nombreuses fois.

They had to read the book many times.

Ils devaient trouver le meilleur candidat possible.

They had to find the best possible candidate.

Ils devaient me surveiller, je n'aurais pas dû vous faire venir.

They were supposed to keep an eye on me; I shouldn't have asked you to come.

— Rome, ville ouverte (1945)

Quand j'étais blessé, ils devaient me nommer caporal.

When I was injured, they were supposed to promote me to corporal.

— Manon des sources (1986)

Il y avait des choses qu'ils devaient faire.

There were things they had to do.