56 Deber vs Deber de

Question 1

In Spanish, when we want to express an obligation or a responsibility, we use the verb deber, properly conjugated of course,

The everyday verb deber is most often used to express that someone has a debt or is obligated to do something.

Answer 1

followed by the infinitive of the verb denoting the action that we must carry out.

Question 2

I must do my homework.

Answer 2

Debo hacer mi tarea.

Question 3

In the preterite, deber is used to indicate that something SHOULD have been done.

“You should have warned me.”
Or
“You should have told me in advance.”

Answer 3

In the preterite, deber is used to indicate that something should have been done.Debiste haberme avisado.

Debiste……………. haber….me …….. avisado.
You should have me warned

Question 4

“Deber + infinitive” tends to imply a sense of internal obligation,

Answer 4

whereas “tener que + infinitive,” which is extremely common and very close in meaning, tends to convey a sense of external obligation.

Question 5

Emilio should pick up his dirty clothes. (For his own good and that of the household.)

Answer 5

Emilio debe levantar su ropa sucia.

Question 6

Emilio must/has to pick up his dirty clothes. (Or his mother will ground him.)

Answer 6

Emilio tiene que levantar su ropa sucia.

Question 7

So any time you want to express a sense of responsibility or obligation, especially one that stems of an internal sense of duty, just conjugate the verb deber and then add the infinitive of the action verb.

Answer 7

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Question 8

I know it won’t be easy but I must confess the truth.

Answer 8

Sé que no será fácil pero debo confesarle la verdad.

Question 9

When one wants to give the listener or reader the idea of probability, one also uses the verb deber, but before the infinitive,

Answer 9

one should also include the preposition de.

The phrase deber de can be used to indicate that something is highly probable.

Question 10

You must be [probably are] confused.

Answer 10

Confundida debes de estar.

Question 11

Aleks Syntek probably understood the difference. (That is the most likely scenario.)

Answer 11

Aleks Syntek debió de entender la diferencia.

Question 12

(Use of Preterite for SHOULD)

she should have stayed with him

Answer 12

debió quedarse con él

Question 13

Expressing Obligation

When used in this way, deber is frequently similar in meaning to the English

Answer 13

“must,” “should,” or “ought”:

Question 14

You ought to study your lessons.

Answer 14

Debes estudiar tus lecciones.

Question 15

Which car should I buy?

Answer 15

¿Qué carro debo comprar?

Question 16

Someone will have to talk about all this.

Answer 16

Alguien deberá hablar de todo esto.

Question 17

He shouldn’t go to sleep after eating.

Answer 17

No debe dormirse después de comer.

Question 18

The tone of deber to express obligation can be softened by using the conditional form instead of the present tense, although the difference isn’t always translatable.

Answer 18

When telling someone what he or she should be doing, using the conditional can come across as more polite:

Question 19

You shouldn’t start a blog if you’re going to talk about personal subjects.

Answer 19

No deberías abrir un blog si vas a hablar de temas personales.

Question 20

(There are 25 books we should read before we reach our 30s.)

Answer 20

Hay 25 libros que deberíamos leer antes de cumplir los 30.

Question 21

Expressing a Debt

When used with a noun direct object, deber can usually be translated as “owe.”

Answer 21

No me debes nada.

You don’t owe me anything.

Question 22

The government owes my mother more than $3 million.

Answer 22

El gobierno le debe más de $3 millones a mi madre.

Question 23

I am always going to owe you for having lifted me up when I was so low.

Answer 23

Siempre te voy a deber el haberme levantado cuando tan abajo estaba.

Question 24

Expressing Strong Probability

The phrase “debes de” is used to refer to a strong likelihood. In such cases,

Answer 24

it is often the equivalent of the English “must” when “must” isn’t used to express obligation:

Question 25

(You must not have (most probably didn’t) signed anything.)

Answer 25

No debiste de firmar nada.

Question 26

In all likelihood, they are in good condition.

Answer 26

Deben de estar en buena condición.

Question 27

Using Deber in the Preterite

In the preterite tense, the rough equivalent of the simple past tense in English, deber can be used to indicate that something should have been done.

Answer 27

Son las palabras que no debiste decir.

They are the words you shouldn’t have said.

Question 28

I should have seen that this was going to happen.

Answer 28

Debí ver que esto iba a ocurrir.

Question 29

Phrases Using Deber

Answer 29

These are among the common phrases using deber:

Question 30

Deberse a (owing to, due to): 
(The increase in chronic illness is due to our lifestyle.)

Answer 30

El aumento de las enfermedades crónicas SE DEBE a nuestro estilo de vida.

Question 31

No deberse a nadie (to be answerable to nobody): (The president isn’t answerable to anyone — except for all the citizens of each and every one of the states.)

Answer 31

El presidente no SE DEBE a nadie — salvo a todos los ciudadanos de todos y cada uno de los estados.

Question 32

Maybe you can already vote because you must be close to sixteen years old

Answer 32

A lo mejor ya puede votar porque debe de tener cerca de diecocho anos

Question 33

Prepaid card users must give their details before November 9th.

Answer 33

Los usuarios de tarjeta prepago deben dar sus datos antes del 9 de noviembre.

Question 34

The competition has some rules and must be fulfilled to the letter

Answer 34

La competicion tiene unas normas y deben de(“de” is wrong here) cumplirse a rajatabla

Question 35

I must finish the article this afternoon

Answer 35

Debo acabar el articulo esta misma tarde

Question 36

There should be more places to park without having to pay for it

Answer 36

Debería de haber más sitios donde aparcar sin tener que pagarpor ello

Question 37

They should take care of the grandparents

Answer 37

Deben cuidar a los abuelos