debo o deber?a

Debo is more like " I must" - it literally means I owe. "Deberia" is like "I would owe" which is more or less the Spanish equivalent of "should"

i tried quanto le debo in a shop and they corrected me to cuanto es - is
it not used here

I haven't figured out how to insert accent marks when composing a message, so hopefully you'll understand where they belong below...

"Deber" as presented in the Spanish language text books I've studied (and in Barron's "501 Spanish Verbs") has always confused me. The books present the word as possibly meaning "should" (or "ought") or "must" - very different meanings depending on the context. The "must" meaning has always puzzled me because one could instead use "tener que" or "necesitar" or "hay que"...

So now I look in the Spanish section of my new Oxford Spanish/English dictionary and it offers the following meanings for the verb form of "deber":
(a) to owe
(b) to express an obligation (e.g., debemos trabajar mas - we must work harder)
(c) to express a supposition or possibility (e.g., deben de ser mas de las cinco - it must be after 5 o'clock)

In the English section "should" is described as translating to:
(a) to express desirability: conditional form of deber (deberia, deberias, ...) or imperfect subjunctive form of deber (deberia, deberias, ...)
-- ex: deberias haber pensado en eso antes (you should have thought of that before)
(b) to indicate probability or logical expectation: conditional or imperfect subjunctive form of deber
-- ex: deberia (de) dar 100 (it should add up to 100)
(c) gustaria (first person usage only)
-- ex: me gustaria verla (I should like to see her)
(d) subjunctive form of other verbs (usable with all persons)
-- ex: si pasaras por una libreria (if you should happen to pass a bookstore)

Don't know if it helps or makes things yet murkier, but there is the Oxford dictionary's take on "deber"

Formas del verbo: deber (to owe; must, should, ought to)

rolfdog said:

Thank you everyone. Deber is a versatile verb and I hear it a lot. Like most times, context means everything. I take from the posts that "should", also a versatile verb, is best translated using the conditional tense.

Yo deber?a de comprar un diccionario mas grande.

Steve

Click to expand...

Hopefully the language experts will come onhere and explain this verb, 'cause i don't know how to, i just use it when need be, jajaja

Si, tu deberias comprar un diccionario mas grande pero no debes gastar mas dinero porque acabarias debiendo mas de lo que tienes. lol

Deber vs Deber de

M.A.R. said:

Hopefully the language experts will come onhere and explain this verb, 'cause i don't know how to, i just use it when need be, jajaja

Si, tu deberias comprar un diccionario mas grande pero no debes gastar mas dinero porque acabarias debiendo mas de lo que tienes. lol

Click to expand...

M.A.R- as usual your examples and your Spanish are great. It's a shame you don't have the grammar knowledge to support them. I am like you in the sense that I know what I want to say without thinking but I can explain the grammatical reasons. With the verb deber one has to think in Spanish not in English.

I was waiting to see if anyone else would explain this grammar concept. Oh well...


Deber-

The most common usage is to express obligation (must, should) but it is also used to express probability and likelihood.


The verb tense differentiates the degree of obligation. This verb is studied well in the classroom and I had a prof who simplified the usage perfectly.


The present tense=

Debo- I must (definite obligation)

The conditional tense=

Deber?a, Deber?as - I must, I ought to, I should, You must, You ought to, You should (not as strong). The conditional tense gives it a more polite tone, thus not as strong especially when speaking to others it could even sound like a suggestion IMO.

The imperfect subjunctive=

Debiera- is the strongest and is not as commonly used.


Deber de- to express probability. Ej. Juan debe de estar en casa- Juan must be at home (debe de - probability, likelihood)

Do not interchange between deber an deber de. The meaning changes. Steve, see your examples above.


-LDG.

...back on hiatus

Lesley D said:

M.A.R- as usual your examples and your Spanish are great. It's a shame you don't have the grammar knowledge to support them. I am like you in the sense that I know what I want to say without thinking but I can explain the grammatical reasons. With the verb deber one has to think in Spanish not in English.

I was waiting to see if anyone else would explain this grammar concept. Oh well...


Deber-

The most common usage is to express obligation (must, should) but it is also used to express probability and likelihood.


The verb tense differentiates the degree of obligation. This verb is studied well in the classroom and I had a prof who simplified the usage perfectly.


The present tense=

Debo- I must (definite obligation)

The conditional tense=

Deber?a, Deber?as - I must, I ought to, I should, You must, You ought to, You should (not as strong). The conditional tense gives it a more polite tone, thus not as strong especially when speaking to others it could even sound like a suggestion IMO.

The imperfect subjunctive=

Debiera- is the strongest and is not as commonly used.


Deber de- to express probability. Ej. Juan debe de estar en casa- Juan must be at home (debe de - probability, likelihood)

Do not interchange between deber an deber de. The meaning changes. Steve, see your examples above.


-LDG.

...back on hiatus

Click to expand...

Excellent explanation Lesley....as usual!

M.A.R- as usual your examples and your Spanish are great. It's a shame you don't have the grammar knowledge to support them. I am like you in the sense that I know what I want to say without thinking but I can explain the grammatical reasons. With the verb deber one has to think in Spanish not in English.

Click to expand...

Thanks Lesly for the compliment, and i feel the same about the grammar knowledge, thanks again.