nous devions

we had to

→ nous

phrase Uncommon #20,645

we had to The imperfect of devoir, used for past obligations or expectations. In hypothetical contexts, it can mean “we were to” or “if we were to.”

FR: Nous devions rentrer avant minuit.

EN: We had to be home before midnight.

Que se passera-t-il si nous devions échouer ?

What will happen if we were to fail?

Il y avait beaucoup de choses que nous devions faire pour préparer notre voyage.

There were many things we had to do to prepare for our trip.

Nous avons fait ce que nous devions faire.

We did what we had to do.

Nous devions faire toute la route jusqu'à la station.

We had to walk all the way to the station.

Nous devions avoir une réunion dans cette salle.

We were supposed to have a meeting in this room.

— Syndromes and a century (2006)

Il disait que je m'en tirerais, et que nous devions garder courage.

He said that I would get through it, and that we had to keep our spirits up.

— L'Échine du diable (2001)

Nous devions restaurer l'ordre, les faire obéir.

We had to restore order and make them obey.

— L'Expérience (2001)

Nous devions aimer notre nation, notre village et nous-mêmes.

We had to love our nation, our village, and ourselves.

— Mekong Hotel (2012)

C'était un match que nous devions gagner.

It was a match we had to win.

Cela signifie-t-il que nous devions nous déclarer en faillite ?

Does this mean we have to declare bankruptcy?

Je ne pense pas que nous devions faire ça.

I don't think we should do that.

Mais finalement, il a compris que nous devions partir.

But finally, he understood that we had to leave.

— Nuremberg (2025)

Nous devions prendre une décision.

We had to make a decision.

Nous devions nous marier bientôt.

We were supposed to get married soon.

— Les Larmes du tigre noir (2000)

Nous devions agir rapidement.

We had to act quickly.

Il dit que nous devions exaucer le voeu de mon père.

He says we had to grant my father's wish.

— The Road Home (1999)

J'ai décidé que nous devions rester ici.

I decided we had to stay here.

— Le Retour du Jedi (1983)

Nous devions travailler ensemble.

We had to work together.

Alors, dans la tradition des Cavaliers, nous devions les dénoncer.

So, in the tradition of the Cavaliers, we had to denounce them.

— Insaisissables 2 (2016)

Nous devions attendre dans les montagnes que Gandalf nous rejoigne.

We had to wait in the mountains for Gandalf to join us.

— Le Hobbit : Un voyage inattendu (2012)

Nous devions nous rencontrer.

We were supposed to meet.

— Star Wars, épisode I - La Menace fantôme (1999)

Nous devions l'arrêter !

We had to stop him!

— मुन्ना भाई एम बी बी एस (2003)