Deber Conjugation in Spanish: Chart & All 18 Tenses

Q: What is the difference between "debo" and "debería"?

Debo is "I must" (a strong obligation). Debería is "I should" (softer, advice). Use deberías to give someone advice politely.

Q: What is the difference between "deber" and "deber de"?

Deber + infinitive = obligation ( debes estudiar , you must study). Deber de + infinitive = probability ( debe de estar cansado , he must be tired). In everyday speech, many people mix them up.

Q: Deber or tener que?

Both express obligation. Tener que is more common in conversation and often comes from outside ( tengo que trabajar ). Deber sounds a bit more formal or moral.

Q: What is the past participle of deber?

The past participle is debido ( he debido ) and the gerund is debiendo . Debido a also means "due to".

deber conjugation chart in Spanish: present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional and present subjunctive — Deber conjugation chart. Letters in **red** are irregular.

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Debo, debería or tengo que?

Debo + infinitive = I must (an obligation you feel). Debería + infinitive = I should (softer, advice). Tengo que + infinitive = I have to (an outside obligation, the most common in everyday speech). And deber de + infinitive = probably: debe de estar en casa (he must be at home).

Test yourselfHide all forms, try to say them out loud, then tap to check.

Indicative tenses of deber

Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.

Present indicative

yo	deboI must / owe
tú	debesyou must / owe
él/ella/usted	debehe/she must / owes
nosotros/as	debemoswe must / owe
vosotros/as	debéisyou all must / owe
ellos/ellas/ustedes	debenthey must / owe

Preterite indicative

yo	debíI had to
tú	debisteyou had to
él/ella/usted	debióhe/she had to
nosotros/as	debimoswe had to
vosotros/as	debisteisyou all had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	debieronthey had to

Imperfect indicative

yo	debíaI used to have to
tú	debíasyou used to have to
él/ella/usted	debíahe/she used to have to
nosotros/as	debíamoswe used to have to
vosotros/as	debíaisyou all used to have to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	debíanthey used to have to

Present continuous indicative

yo	estoy debiendoI am owing
tú	estás debiendoyou are owing
él/ella/usted	está debiendohe/she is owing
nosotros/as	estamos debiendowe are owing
vosotros/as	estáis debiendoyou all are owing
ellos/ellas/ustedes	están debiendothey are owing

estar + gerund

Only used for owing money: me estás debiendo diez euros.

Informal future indicative

yo	voy a deberI am going to have to
tú	vas a deberyou are going to have to
él/ella/usted	va a deberhe/she is going to have to
nosotros/as	vamos a deberwe are going to have to
vosotros/as	vais a deberyou all are going to have to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	van a deberthey are going to have to

ir a + infinitive

Future indicative

yo	deberéI will have to
tú	deberásyou will have to
él/ella/usted	deberáhe/she will have to
nosotros/as	deberemoswe will have to
vosotros/as	deberéisyou all will have to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	deberánthey will have to

Conditional indicative

yo	deberíaI should
tú	deberíasyou should
él/ella/usted	deberíahe/she should
nosotros/as	deberíamoswe should
vosotros/as	deberíaisyou all should
ellos/ellas/ustedes	deberíanthey should

Deberías… (you should…) is the most common way to give advice.

Present perfect indicative

yo	he debidoI have had to
tú	has debidoyou have had to
él/ella/usted	ha debidohe/she has had to
nosotros/as	hemos debidowe have had to
vosotros/as	habéis debidoyou all have had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	han debidothey have had to

haber (present) + past participle

Past perfect indicative

yo	había debidoI had had to
tú	habías debidoyou had had to
él/ella/usted	había debidohe/she had had to
nosotros/as	habíamos debidowe had had to
vosotros/as	habíais debidoyou all had had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	habían debidothey had had to

haber (imperfect) + past participle

Future perfect indicative

yo	habré debidoI will have had to
tú	habrás debidoyou will have had to
él/ella/usted	habrá debidohe/she will have had to
nosotros/as	habremos debidowe will have had to
vosotros/as	habréis debidoyou all will have had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	habrán debidothey will have had to

haber (future) + past participle

Conditional perfect indicative

yo	habría debidoI would have had to
tú	habrías debidoyou would have had to
él/ella/usted	habría debidohe/she would have had to
nosotros/as	habríamos debidowe would have had to
vosotros/as	habríais debidoyou all would have had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	habrían debidothey would have had to

haber (conditional) + past participle

Subjunctive tenses of deber

Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.

Present subjunctive

yo	deba(that) I must
tú	debas(that) you must
él/ella/usted	deba(that) he/she must
nosotros/as	debamos(that) we must
vosotros/as	debáis(that) you all must
ellos/ellas/ustedes	deban(that) they must

Imperfect subjunctive

yo	debiera(if) I had to
tú	debieras(if) you had to
él/ella/usted	debiera(if) he/she had to
nosotros/as	debiéramos(if) we had to
vosotros/as	debierais(if) you all had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	debieran(if) they had to

Future subjunctive

yo	debiere(if) I must
tú	debieres(if) you must
él/ella/usted	debiere(if) he/she must
nosotros/as	debiéremos(if) we must
vosotros/as	debiereis(if) you all must
ellos/ellas/ustedes	debieren(if) they must

rarely used: legal & formal texts

Present perfect subjunctive

yo	haya debido(that) I have had to
tú	hayas debido(that) you have had to
él/ella/usted	haya debido(that) he/she has had to
nosotros/as	hayamos debido(that) we have had to
vosotros/as	hayáis debido(that) you all have had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hayan debido(that) they have had to

haber (present subj.) + past participle

Past perfect subjunctive

yo	hubiera debido(if) I had had to
tú	hubieras debido(if) you had had to
él/ella/usted	hubiera debido(if) he/she had had to
nosotros/as	hubiéramos debido(if) we had had to
vosotros/as	hubierais debido(if) you all had had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hubieran debido(if) they had had to

haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle

Future perfect subjunctive

yo	hubiere debido(if) I will have had to
tú	hubieres debido(if) you will have had to
él/ella/usted	hubiere debido(if) he/she will have had to
nosotros/as	hubiéremos debido(if) we will have had to
vosotros/as	hubiereis debido(if) you all will have had to
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hubieren debido(if) they will have had to

rarely used: legal & formal texts

Imperative tenses of deber

Commands and instructions.

Affirmative imperative

tú	debeowe!
usted	debaowe! (formal)
nosotros/as	debamoslet's owe!
vosotros/as	debedowe! (you all)
ustedes	debanowe! (you all, formal)

Rare: deber has no real command form.

Negative imperative

tú	no debasdon't owe!
usted	no debadon't owe! (formal)
nosotros/as	no debamoslet's not owe!
vosotros/as	no debáisdon't owe! (you all)
ustedes	no debandon't owe! (you all, formal)

Practice deber

Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and deber.

How to use deber

Obligation (must)

Debo terminar este trabajo hoy.

I must finish this work today.

Advice (should)

Deberías descansar más.

You should rest more.

Owing money or a favor

Te debo una.

I owe you one.

Probability (deber de)

Debe de ser tarde.

It must be late.

Rules

No debes fumar aquí.

You mustn't smoke here.

Example sentences with deber

¿Cuánto te debo?How much do I owe you?
Debes tener cuidado.You must be careful.
Deberíamos irnos ya.We should go now.
Debí llamarte antes.I should have called you earlier.
Debía mucho dinero al banco.He owed the bank a lot of money.
Deberás practicar cada día.You'll have to practice every day.
No deberías preocuparte tanto.You shouldn't worry so much.
Te debo una.I owe you one.

Verbs like deber

Fully regular -er verbs like comer and beber follow the same pattern. Tener que is the everyday alternative for "have to".

comercomo beberbebo aprenderaprendo comprendercomprendo tenertengo que

Frequently asked questions about deber

Is deber regular or irregular?

Deber is completely regular. It follows the normal -er pattern in every tense.

How do you conjugate deber in the present tense?

debo, debes, debe, debemos, debéis, deben.

What is the difference between "debo" and "debería"?

Debo is "I must" (a strong obligation). Debería is "I should" (softer, advice). Use deberías to give someone advice politely.

What is the difference between "deber" and "deber de"?

Deber + infinitive = obligation (debes estudiar, you must study). Deber de + infinitive = probability (debe de estar cansado, he must be tired). In everyday speech, many people mix them up.

Deber or tener que?

Both express obligation. Tener que is more common in conversation and often comes from outside (tengo que trabajar). Deber sounds a bit more formal or moral.

What is the past participle of deber?

The past participle is debido (he debido) and the gerund is debiendo. Debido a also means "due to".

Free cheat sheet

All 18 tenses of deber, on one page.

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Deber conjugation