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on devait

we had to

→ on
phrase Uncommon #10,879
we had to On commonly means “we” in everyday French. The imperfect tense can also express what was expected or supposed to happen.
FR: On devait partir tôt.
EN: We had to leave early.

Il disait qu'on devait avoir une réunion.

He said we had to have a meeting.

On devait le faire ensemble.

We were supposed to do it together.

— On ne vit qu'une seule fois (2011)

On devait mettre un X où il fallait.

We had to put an X in the right place.

— Il est de retour (2015)

On devait enregistrer la semaine prochaine.

We were supposed to record next week.

— Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)

On devait se voir tous les trois.

The three of us were supposed to meet.

— Burning (2018)

Je m'excuse de vous avoir laissés ici, de toute façon on devait attendre.

I’m sorry I left you here; we had to wait anyway.

— Stalker (1979)

On devait partir ensemble, non ?

We were supposed to leave together, weren't we?

— Star Trek V : L'Ultime Frontière (1989)

On s'est quittés et on devait rester en contact, mais ça n'a pas été le cas.

We broke up and were supposed to stay in touch, but that didn't happen.

— The Man from Earth (2007)

On devait prendre une décision.

We had to make a decision.

On devait trouver MRX et j'étais l'appât.

We were supposed to find MRX, and I was the bait.

— Qui suis-je (2014)

Souviens-toi, on devait appeler Vargas et Reyes.

Remember, we were supposed to call Vargas and Reyes.

Et je crois que on devait repartir à zéro.

And I think we had to start from scratch.

— Bugonia (2025)

On devait partir dans deux mois.

We were supposed to leave in two months.

— Mommy (2014)

On devait y aller ensemble.

We were supposed to go together.

On devait aller couper le circuit principal, non ?

We were supposed to go and cut the main circuit, weren't we?

On devait creuser !

We had to dig!

— Atlantide, l'empire perdu (2001)

Je ne savais pas qu'on devait répondre à tant de questions.

I didn't know we had to answer so many questions.

— King of Comedy (1999)

On devait y aller, mais elle est partie.

We were supposed to go, but she left.

On devait aller à la Galleria dell'Accademia.

We were supposed to go to the Galleria dell'Accademia.

— Vacances à Venise (1955)

D'après Cook, on devait recevoir combien ?

According to Cook, how much were we supposed to receive?

— Drive (2011)

On devait se lever à l'aube.

We were supposed to get up at dawn.

Mais avant, on devait détruire les preuves.

But first, the evidence had to be destroyed.

— Qui suis-je (2014)

On devait rester combien de jours ?

How many days were we supposed to stay?

— Carnets de voyage (2004)

On devait y être à neuf heures.

We were supposed to be there at nine o’clock.

— Les Affranchis (1990)

On devait s'adapter.

We had to adapt.

— Oppenheimer (2023)

On devait laisser passer du temps avant de se retrouver !

We needed to let some time pass before seeing each other again!

— Serie Noire (1979)

On devait "remplir les caisses" ?

Were we supposed to “fill the coffers”?

— Yi Yi (2000)

On devait y stocker des déchets nucléaires.

Nuclear waste was supposed to be stored there.

— Alien³ (1992)

On devait se rencontrer ici et aller manger au restaurant.

We were supposed to meet here and go out to a restaurant.

— Day Watch (2006)

On devait avoir des cadeaux.

We were supposed to get presents.

— Une grande fille (2019)

On devait le faire.

We had to do it.

Mais on devait rester tranquille.

But we had to remain calm.

— Nausicaä de la vallée du vent (1984)

On devait pas se voir à l'hôtel ?

Weren’t we supposed to meet at the hotel?

— Parle avec elle (2002)

On devait aller camper la semaine prochaine !

We were supposed to go camping next week!

— Kiki la petite sorcière (1989)

Non, cette question, qu'on devait aborder ensemble.

No, that question—the one we were supposed to discuss together.

— Aquarius (2016)

On devait manger ensemble à midi.

We were supposed to have lunch together.

— X-Men (2000)

On devait juste croiser des explosions et des pièges.

We were just supposed to encounter explosions and traps.

— War Machine (2026)

On devait passer un morceau de Harry Belafonte.

We were supposed to play a Harry Belafonte track.

— Toni Erdmann (2016)

On devait avoir encore une heure.

We were supposed to have another hour.

— The Wandering Earth 2 (2023)

C'est elle qu'on devait interroger ?

Was she the one we were supposed to question?

— Andhadhun (2018)

On devait entrer depuis le début.

We were supposed to go in from the beginning.

— Zootopie 2 (2025)

Et je ne suis pas sûre de ce que Sharon ferait si on devait partir.

And I'm not sure what Sharon would do if we had to leave.

— Tár (2022)

On devait partir dimanche.

We were supposed to leave on Sunday.

— Mystic River (2003)