French Phrase
Faut les garder sous contrôle.
Meaning
Literally, ‘One must keep them under control.’ It is used to give a brief, informal instruction or advice that something (people, situations, emotions) should be kept in check.
When to use
Use this phrase in casual conversation when you want to stress the need for control—e.g., talking about children, a project, or a heated discussion. It is too informal for academic writing or formal business reports.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Fautlesgardersouscontrôle.
Falloir (impersonal)
‘Faut’ is the colloquial short form of the impersonal verb ‘falloir’, which always appears with a dummy subject ‘il’ in formal French (Il faut…).
Pronoun placement
The direct object pronoun ‘les’ precedes the infinitive ‘garder’ in the construction ‘faut les garder…’.
Prepositional phrase
‘sous contrôle’ functions as a fixed expression meaning ‘under control’; no article is used before ‘contrôle’.
Ellipsis of ‘il’
In spoken French the subject ‘il’ is often omitted, leaving just ‘Faut…’, which sounds informal and urgent.
🗨In Conversation
Ces enfants sont très turbulents aujourd'hui.
These kids are very rowdy today.
Faut les garder sous contrôle.
We have to keep them under control.
✕Common Mistakes
Faut les garder sous le contrôle.
The article ‘le’ is not used before ‘contrôle’ in this idiom.
Faut garder les sous contrôle.
Pronoun ‘les’ must come before the infinitive, not after it.
Il faut les garder sous le contrôle.
Adding ‘le’ changes the meaning; the idiomatic expression is without an article.
↔Alternatives
Il faut les garder sous contrôle.
One must keep them under control.
Il faut les maîtriser.
We must master them.
Il faut les contrôler.
We must control them.
Cultural Tip
Dropping the dummy subject ‘il’ (saying just ‘Faut…’) is a hallmark of spoken French and gives the sentence a punchy, urgent tone. It’s perfectly natural in everyday speech, but avoid it in formal writing or presentations where the full ‘Il faut…’ is expected.