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SPANISH VERB

deber

to owe; must

  • #14 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Gerund: debiendo
  • Past participle: debido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I owe
  2. tú you owe
  3. usted, él, ella he/she owes
  4. nosotros we owe
  5. vosotros Spain you all owe
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they owe

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I owed
  2. tú you owed
  3. usted, él, ella he/she owed
  4. nosotros we owed
  5. vosotros Spain you all owed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they owed

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to owe
  2. tú you used to owe
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to owe
  4. nosotros we used to owe
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to owe
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to owe

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will owe
  2. tú you will owe
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will owe
  4. nosotros we will owe
  5. vosotros Spain you all will owe
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will owe

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would owe
  2. tú you would owe
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would owe
  4. nosotros we would owe
  5. vosotros Spain you all would owe
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would owe

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I owe
  2. tú (that) you owe
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she owe
  4. nosotros (that) we owe
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all owe
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they owe

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I owed
  2. tú (if) you owed
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she owed
  4. nosotros (if) we owed
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all owed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they owed

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú owe!
  2. usted owe! (formal)
  3. nosotros owe! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain owe! (all of you)
  5. ustedes owe! (all of you)

How to use deber

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

  1. Present

    Te debo veinte pesos del café de ayer.

    I owe you twenty pesos for yesterday's coffee.

  2. Past

    Mi tío debió mucho dinero después del divorcio.

    My uncle owed a lot of money after the divorce.

  3. Imperfect

    Debíamos llegar a las ocho, pero había tráfico.

    We were supposed to arrive at eight, but there was traffic.

  4. Future

    Deberás pagar la multa antes de fin de mes.

    You'll have to pay the fine before the end of the month.

  5. Conditional

    Deberías tomar más agua con este calor.

    You should drink more water in this heat.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No creo que debas disculparte por eso.

    I don't think you should apologize for that.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si debiera dinero, no compraría un carro nuevo.

    If I owed money, I wouldn't buy a new car.

  8. Imperative

    No le deba dinero a nadie, don Luis.

    Don't owe money to anyone, Don Luis.

Good to know

  • "Deber" plus a verb is "must" or "should": "Debes descansar."
  • "Debería" is the softer "should": "Deberías llamar a tu mamá."

Where you hear deber

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • ¿Cuánto te debo? How much do I owe you?
  • Le debía cuatrocientos pesos a Camila. I owed Camila four hundred pesos.
  • Deben ir a una vulcanizadora. You must go to a tyre shop.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Debe ser el perro de Beto. It must be Beto's dog.
  • Debí llamar a Elena antes. I should have called Elena earlier.
  • Mañana deberé descansar. Tomorrow I'll need to rest.
13
The Pyramid

Beginner Level 3 · les debía una

Needs a subscription 14
I Forgot My Wallet

Beginner Level 3 · te debo · no me debes

Needs a subscription 15
A Flat Tyre

Beginner Level 3 · deben · debes · debemos

Needs a subscription 20
The Whole Trip

Beginner Level 3 · le debía · le debían

Needs a subscription 17
The Neighbours

Intermediate Level 1 · debe ser

Needs a subscription 16
The Guelaguetza

Intermediate Level 2 · te debo

Needs a subscription 8
Cool, Mate

Advanced Level 1 · tú debes de ser

Needs a subscription 22
Since When Do You Talk Like That?

Advanced Level 1 · debéis de ser

Needs a subscription 28
Thank You, Teacher

Advanced Level 2 · te debo

Needs a subscription 16
For Both of Us

Fluency Level 1 · Te lo debíamos.

Needs a subscription 29
A Promise Is a Promise

Fluency Level 1 · me debes

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.