Is avoir à a possible alternative to devoir?
Can avoir à ever be used instead of devoir? For example j'ai à vous remercier instead of je dois vous remercier.Is "avoir à" a possible alternative to "devoir"
- « Back to Q&A Forum
- « Previous questionNext question »

Is "avoir à" a possible alternative to "devoir"

Hi William,
As the lesson points out 'devoir' can be both 'to have to' or 'to need to' something .
'Avoir à' is mostly used to indicate an idea of need rather than must as in :
Tu n'as pas à t'excuser = You don't need to apologise (in other words - it was not your fault)
Tu n'as pas à faire ça = You don't need to do that ( or even: there's no need for you to do that)
J'ai à faire = I have things to do (there are things I need to do)
so it may be best to use 'devoir' or 'falloir' to convey the idea of 'must'.
Hope this helps!
I have heard "avaoir à" used in some specific context loke:
Tu n'as qu'à ranger ta chambre. -- You only have to clean up your room.
But I found a more comprehensive discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/French/comments/1urs43/avoir_à_vs_devoir/

Is "avoir à" a possible alternative to "devoir"
Is avoir à a possible alternative to devoir?
Can avoir à ever be used instead of devoir? For example j'ai à vous remercier instead of je dois vous remercier.Don't have an account yet? Join today
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level