 |
|
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
A Spanish verb must
Deber is a very common Spanish verb with regular conjugations and an unusual relationship to some of its English equivalents.* Deber has several meanings related to obligation, supposition, and expectation.
Deber = must, to have to (obligation)
| Debes terminar este proyecto. | You must finish this project. | |
| Debo salir a las 2 de la tarde. | I have to leave at 2pm. |
Deber = must, to be probable (supposition)
| Santiago debe estar trabajando hasta tarde. | Sylvain must be working late. | |
| Debes estar cansado. | You’re probably tired. |
Deber = to be expected, supposed to (expectation)
| Debo llegar alrededor del mediodía. | I expect to, I should arrive around noon. | |
| Anne debe llamar mañana. | Anne is supposed to call tomorrow. |
Deber = to be bound to (fatalism)
| Debes descubrir la verdad. | You’re bound to discover the truth. | |
| Debe arruinarlo un día. | He was bound to screw it up one day. |
Should vs Must
Many of the above examples could fit into more than one category, so how do you know which meaning is the right one? As always, it depends on context. When you want to make sure that the meaning you want is the one others get, you need to do a bit more work.
Must
To specify that something "must" happen, strengthen deber with something like absolutamente, a toda costa, imperativamente, or realmente.
| Realmente debes terminar este proyecto. | You really must finish this project. | |
| Tengo que salir a las 2 de la tarde a toda costa. | I have to leave at 2pm no matter what. |
Should
To say that something "should" happen, soften deber by using it in the conditional.
| Deberías terminar este proyecto. | You should finish this project. | |
| Debería salir a las 2 de la tarde. | I should leave at 2pm. |
* Whereas devoir is a fully conjugable verb, two of its common English equivalents – "must" and "should" – are modal verbs, which have just a single form.
Deber = to owe
Deber plus a noun means "to owe."
| Le debo 5 euros. | I owe him 5 euros. | |
| ¡Me debes una explicación! | You owe me an explanation! |
Deber conjugations
Present tense
Deber is a regular –er verb:
| yo | debo | nosotros | debemos | |
| tú | debes | vosotros | debéis | |
| él, ella, Ud. | debe | ellos, ellas, Uds. | deben |
All tenses
Deber Conjugations Quiz
Think you’ve got it? Test yourself:
El deber = duty, los deberes = duties, homework
| Hizo su deber. | He did his duty. | |
| Hizo sus deberes. | He did his homework. |
Related lessons
En français
In italiano
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work.