Meaning · verb
to have to; to owe
- to have to; must
- to owe
In a sentence
Ti devo ancora dieci euro per la cena.
I still owe you ten euros for dinner.
Devo andare al lavoro presto domani mattina.
I have to go to work early tomorrow morning.
Hai dovuto aspettare molto alla stazione?
Did you have to wait long at the station?
Word forms (45)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| dovere | infinitive |
| dobbiamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| devo | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| dovete | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| devi | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| devono | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| deve | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| dovevamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| dovevo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| dovevate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| dovevi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| dovevano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| doveva | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| dovemmo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| dovetti | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| doveste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| dovesti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| dovettero | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| dovette | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| dovremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| dovrò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| dovrete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| dovrai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| dovranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| dovrà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| dobbiamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| debba | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| dobbiate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| debba | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| debbano | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| debba | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| dovessimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| dovessi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| doveste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| dovessi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| dovessero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| dovesse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| dovremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| dovrei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| dovreste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| dovresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| dovrebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| dovrebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| dovendo | gerund |
| dovuto | past · participle |
Usage notes
- Use 'dovere' for obligations or necessity; 'bisognare' is impersonal (e.g., 'bisogna studiare').
- Auxiliary is 'avere' in compound tenses, but 'essere' if followed by an infinitive verb of motion (e.g., 'sono dovuto uscire').
- Contractions: 'devo' → 'debbo' (rare, formal), 'devi' → 'debbi' (poetic). Stick to standard forms.
- present: devo, devi, deve, dobbiamo, dovete, devono