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How to conjugate Deber in Spanish

deber to have to, to owe, to be supposed to Regular ER Verb Top 100

At a glance: Deber (to have to, to owe, to be supposed to) is one of the most common regular -ER verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: debo, debes, debe, debemos, debéis, deben. Because it is fully regular, its endings apply directly to hundreds of other -ER verbs.

Past participle: debido had to
Gerund: debiendo having to
Similar: tener que (to have to)

Introduction
Indicative tenses of Deber
Subjunctive tenses of Deber
Imperative tenses of Deber
- Deber in the Imperative Affirmative
- Deber in the Imperative Negative
Verbs that follow the same patterns
Example sentences and usage
Frequently asked questions
Downloadable cheat sheet (PDF)
Practise Deber conjugations (free mobile app)

Introduction

Deber is the Spanish verb meaning "to owe, to must or to should". It can be used to describe owing money to someone, or to express obligation. For example: I should go to the store, I must do my homework before dinner, I have to make my bed every morning, and I ought to help them clean. It is also commonly used to make a suggestion, for example: "No deberíamos fumar" (We shouldn't smoke).

Deber conjugation tables as a PDF

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Indicative tenses of Deber

Deber in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of deber is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “debo dinero”, meaning “I have to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	debo	I have to
Tú	debes	you have to
Ella / Él / Usted	debe	s/he has to
Nosotras / Nosotros	debemos	we have to
Vosotras / Vosotros	debéis	you (plural) have to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	deben	they have to

How it’s built: Regular: stem deb- plus the -er endings.

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Deber in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of deber is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “debí dinero”, meaning “I had to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	debí	I had to
Tú	debiste	you had to
Ella / Él / Usted	debió	s/he had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	debimos	we had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	debisteis	you (plural) had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	debieron	they had to

How it’s built: Regular: stem deb- plus the -er endings.

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Deber in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of deber is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “debía dinero”, meaning “I used to have to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	debía	I used to have to
Tú	debías	you used to have to
Ella / Él / Usted	debía	s/he used to have to
Nosotras / Nosotros	debíamos	we used to have to
Vosotras / Vosotros	debíais	you (plural) used to have to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	debían	they used to have to

How it’s built: Regular: stem deb- plus the -er endings.

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Deber in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of deber is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy debiendo dinero”, meaning “I am having to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	estoy debiendo	I am having to
Tú	estás debiendo	you are having to
Ella / Él / Usted	está debiendo	s/he is having to
Nosotras / Nosotros	estamos debiendo	we are having to
Vosotras / Vosotros	estáis debiendo	you (plural) are having to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	están debiendo	they are having to

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund debiendo.

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Deber in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of deber is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a deber dinero”, meaning “I am going to have to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	voy a deber	I am going to have to
Tú	vas a deber	you are going to have to
Ella / Él / Usted	va a deber	s/he is going to have to
Nosotras / Nosotros	vamos a deber	we are going to have to
Vosotras / Vosotros	vais a deber	you (plural) are going to have to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	van a deber	they are going to have to

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive deber.

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Deber in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of deber is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “deberé dinero”, meaning “I will have to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	deberé	I will have to
Tú	deberás	you will have to
Ella / Él / Usted	deberá	s/he will have to
Nosotras / Nosotros	deberemos	we will have to
Vosotras / Vosotros	deberéis	you (plural) will have to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	deberán	they will have to

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive deber plus the future endings.

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Deber in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of deber is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “debería dinero”, meaning “I would have to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	debería	I would have to
Tú	deberías	you would have to
Ella / Él / Usted	debería	s/he would have to
Nosotras / Nosotros	deberíamos	we would have to
Vosotras / Vosotros	deberíais	you (plural) would have to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	deberían	they would have to

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive deber plus the conditional endings.

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Deber in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of deber is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he debido dinero”, meaning “I have had to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	he debido	I have had to
Tú	has debido	you have had to
Ella / Él / Usted	ha debido	s/he has had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	hemos debido	we have had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	habéis debido	you (plural) have had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	han debido	they have had to

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle debido.

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Deber in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of deber is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había debido dinero”, meaning “I had had to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	había debido	I had had to
Tú	habías debido	you had had to
Ella / Él / Usted	había debido	s/he had had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	habíamos debido	we had had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	habíais debido	you (plural) had had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habían debido	they had had to

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle debido.

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Deber in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of deber is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré debido dinero”, meaning “I will have had to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	habré debido	I will have had to
Tú	habrás debido	you will have had to
Ella / Él / Usted	habrá debido	s/he will have had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	habremos debido	we will have had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	habréis debido	you (plural) will have had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habrán debido	they will have had to

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle debido.

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Deber in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of deber is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría debido dinero”, meaning “I would have had to money”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	habría debido	I would have had to
Tú	habrías debido	you would have had to
Ella / Él / Usted	habría debido	s/he would have had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	habríamos debido	we would have had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	habríais debido	you (plural) would have had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habrían debido	they would have had to

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle debido.

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Subjunctive tenses of Deber

Deber in the Subjunctive Present

The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “deba”, meaning “I have to”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	deba	I have to
Tú	debas	you have to
Ella / Él / Usted	deba	s/he has to
Nosotras / Nosotros	debamos	we have to
Vosotras / Vosotros	debáis	you (plural) have to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	deban	they have to

How it’s built: Regular: stem deb- plus the -er subjunctive endings.

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Deber in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “debiera”, meaning “I had to”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	debiera	I had to
Tú	debieras	you had to
Ella / Él / Usted	debiera	s/he had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	debiéramos	we had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	debierais	you (plural) had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	debieran	they had to

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, debieron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (debiéramos).

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Deber in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “debiere”, meaning “I will have to”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	debiere	I will have to
Tú	debieres	you will have to
Ella / Él / Usted	debiere	s/he will have to
Nosotras / Nosotros	debiéremos	we will have to
Vosotras / Vosotros	debiereis	you (plural) will have to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	debieren	they will have to

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, debieron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (debiéremos).

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Deber in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya debido”, meaning “I have had to”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	haya debido	I have had to
Tú	hayas debido	you have had to
Ella / Él / Usted	haya debido	s/he has had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	hayamos debido	we have had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	hayáis debido	you (plural) have had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hayan debido	they have had to

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle debido.

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Deber in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera debido”, meaning “I had had to”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hubiera debido	I had had to
Tú	hubieras debido	you had had to
Ella / Él / Usted	hubiera debido	s/he had had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	hubiéramos debido	we had had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	hubierais debido	you (plural) had had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hubieran debido	they had had to

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle debido.

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Deber in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere debido”, meaning “I will have had to”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hubiere debido	I will have had to
Tú	hubieres debido	you will have had to
Ella / Él / Usted	hubiere debido	s/he will have had to
Nosotras / Nosotros	hubiéremos debido	we will have had to
Vosotras / Vosotros	hubiereis debido	you (plural) will have had to
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hubieren debido	they will have had to

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle debido.

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Imperative tenses of Deber

Deber in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “deba”, meaning “(to you formal) have to!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	-
Tú	debe	(to you) have to!
Ella / Él / Usted	deba	(to you formal) have to!
Nosotras / Nosotros	debamos	let's have to!
Vosotras / Vosotros	debed	(to you plural) have to!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	deban	(to you plural formal) have to!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (debe); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (deba, debamos, deban); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (debed).

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Deber in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no deba”, meaning “(to you formal) don't have to!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	-
Tú	no debas	(to you) don't have to!
Ella / Él / Usted	no deba	(to you formal) don't have to!
Nosotras / Nosotros	no debamos	let's not have to!
Vosotras / Vosotros	no debáis	(to you plural) don't have to!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	no deban	(to you plural formal) don't have to!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no debas, no deba, no debamos, no debáis, no deban.

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Example sentences and usage

No debí desconectarme del sitio. I shouldn't have logged off.
Debemos aprender a vivir juntos como hermanos, o pereceremos juntos como tontos. We must learn to live together as brothers, or we will perish together as fools.
Debo admitir que ronco... I must admit that I snore.
Nosotros debemos aprender a encarar virtuosamente la adversidad. We must learn to meet adversity gracefully.
Debiste de haber rechazado una propuesta tan injusta. You should have refused such an unfair proposal.
La gente debería entender que el mundo está cambiando. People should understand that the world is changing.
¡Debes ayudarla, y pronto! You must help her, and soon!
Debes irte de una vez a casa. You must go home at once.

Frequently asked questions about Deber

Is deber a regular or irregular verb?

Deber is a fully regular -ER verb. It follows the standard -ER conjugation pattern in every tense and mood without any stem changes, spelling changes, or irregular forms. This makes it a model verb for learning the -ER conjugation system.

How do you conjugate deber in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), deber is conjugated as: yo debo, tú debes, él/ella/usted debe, nosotros debemos, vosotros debéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes deben. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.

How do you conjugate deber in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), deber is conjugated as: yo debí, tú debiste, él/ella/usted debió, nosotros debimos, vosotros debisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes debieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate deber in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), deber is conjugated as: yo debía, tú debías, él/ella/usted debía, nosotros debíamos, vosotros debíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes debían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.

How do you conjugate deber in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), deber is conjugated as: yo deberé, tú deberás, él/ella/usted deberá, nosotros deberemos, vosotros deberéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes deberán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate deber in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), deber is conjugated as: yo deba, tú debas, él/ella/usted deba, nosotros debamos, vosotros debáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes deban. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.

What are some common example sentences using deber?

Here are everyday sentences using deber: No debí desconectarme del sitio. (I shouldn't have logged off.) Debemos aprender a vivir juntos como hermanos, o pereceremos juntos como tontos. (We must learn to live together as brothers, or we will perish together as fools.) Debo admitir que ronco... (I must admit that I snore.) Nosotros debemos aprender a encarar virtuosamente la adversidad. (We must learn to meet adversity gracefully.) Debiste de haber rechazado una propuesta tan injusta. (You should have refused such an unfair proposal.)

Downloadable cheat sheets

Download and print a cheat sheet of Deber Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:

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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

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How to conjugate Deber in Spanish

Table of contents

Introduction