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J’aurais dû – I should have

J’aurais dû – I should have

Regrets – we all have them. Today we’ll learn how to express a regret in French. J’aurais dû translates to “I should have”. For example, J’aurais dû apprendre le français (I should have learned French). We’ll do a very brief grammatical explanation then look at some practical sample sentences.

J’aurais dû

I should have

J'aurais dû = I should have in French

I should have in French

Grammatical explanation

In French, “j’ai dû” (I had to) is the passé composé of the verb devoir (must, to have to) and means “I had to”.

When we change j’ai to j’aurais we get the past conditional: j’aurais dû (I should have). For example, j’aurais acheter (I should have bought) and je n’aurais pas acheter (I shouldn’t have bought).

J’aurais dû I should have
Tu aurais dû You should have (singular, informal)
Il, elle aurait dû He, she should have
Nous aurions dû We should have (plural, formal)
Ils, elles auraient dû They should have

Example sentences

This first example sentence shows how to express a positve regret: I should have _ed.

J’aurais dû commander le steak. Ça a l’air délicieux !

I should have ordered the steak. It looks delicious!

To express a negative regret, wrap ne…pas around the auxiliary verb (aurais in this case). Thus, “je n’aurais pas dû + infinitive” means “I shouldn’t have _ed.”

Je n’aurais pas dû vendre le vélo !

I shouldn’t have sold the bike!

You can also use this structure to express a reprimand: “You should have _ed!”.

Vous auriez dû me téléphoner plus tôt !

You should have called me earlier!

Word of the Day Lessons

J'aurais dû + infinitive is an advanced French sentence structure meaning "I should have". It is used to express regrets.
J’aurais dû + infinitive is an advanced French sentence structure meaning “I should have”. It is used to express regrets.

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David Issokson
David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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