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fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

dovere

to have to, must

  • #8 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: dovuto
  • Gerund: dovendo

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I have to
  2. tu you have to
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she has to
  4. noi we have to
  5. voi you all have to
  6. loro they have to

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I had to
  2. tu you had to
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she had to
  4. noi we had to
  5. voi you all had to
  6. loro they had to

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to have to
  2. tu you used to have to
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to have to
  4. noi we used to have to
  5. voi you all used to have to
  6. loro they used to have to

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will have to
  2. tu you will have to
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will have to
  4. noi we will have to
  5. voi you all will have to
  6. loro they will have to

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would have to
  2. tu you would have to
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would have to
  4. noi we would have to
  5. voi you all would have to
  6. loro they would have to

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I have to
  2. tu (that) you have to
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she have to
  4. noi (that) we have to
  5. voi (that) you all have to
  6. loro (that) they have to

How to use dovere

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Devo andare, ho il treno alle sei.

    I have to go, my train's at six.

  2. Past

    Abbiamo dovuto aspettare un'ora sotto la pioggia.

    We had to wait an hour in the rain.

  3. Imperfect

    Doveva venire alle otto, ma non si è visto.

    He was supposed to come at eight, but he didn't show up.

  4. Future

    Dovrete mostrare il biglietto all'ingresso.

    You'll have to show your ticket at the entrance.

  5. Conditional

    Dovresti andare dal medico, hai la febbre.

    You should go to the doctor, you have a fever.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non credo che tu debba pagare niente.

    I don't think you have to pay anything.

Good to know

  • Dovere is also to owe: ti devo dieci euro.
  • Dovrei is I should; avrei dovuto is I should have.
  • Deve essere stanco is he must be tired: a guess, as in English.

Where you hear dovere

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Beginner Level 2

  • Devo pulire la cucina. I have to clean the kitchen.
  • Ho dovuto chiudere la porta. I had to close the door.
  • Dovrò tornare domani. I'll have to come back tomorrow.

Italian · Beginner Level 3

  • Devo pulire la cucina. I have to clean the kitchen.
  • Ho dovuto chiudere la porta. I had to close the door.
  • Dovrò tornare domani. I'll have to come back tomorrow.
6
The Forest Ranger

Beginner Level 2 · Cosa devo fare?

Needs a subscription 23
Assunta Is Unwell

Beginner Level 2 · Devo riposare. · Deve riposare. E bere molta acqua.

Needs a subscription 17
Residence Papers

Beginner Level 3 · Sì. Cosa devo fare? · Deve compilare questo modulo.

Needs a subscription 26
Presents

Beginner Level 3 · Per me? Giulia, non dovevi!

Needs a subscription 19
Chiara Is in Love

Intermediate Level 1 · Laura, devo dirti una cosa.

Needs a subscription 9
Nonna's Opinion

Intermediate Level 2 · Secondo me dovresti parlare con Nunzia.

Needs a subscription 15
Advice at Night

Intermediate Level 2 · Cosa dovrei fare? · Dovresti dirglielo. Domani. · Dovresti dormire.

Needs a subscription 26
The Last Wedding

Intermediate Level 2 · Non deve ringraziarmi.

Needs a subscription 16
A Photograph

Intermediate Level 3 · Quella ragazza... Dev'essere lei! · Dev'essere vecchia. · Dev'essere lei, sì. Ti somiglia.

Needs a subscription 18
Regrets

Intermediate Level 3 · Avrei dovuto tornare, tesoro. · Avrei dovuto dirtelo.

Needs a subscription 20
The Notary's Advice

Intermediate Level 3 · Cosa dovremmo fare? · Dovreste parlare prima con lei.

Needs a subscription 26
Zio Antonio Makes Peace

Intermediate Level 3 · Laura, devo dirti una cosa. Mi sbagliavo. · Avrei dovuto ascoltarla, tua nonna.

Needs a subscription

And 12 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ere verb.