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deber

/deˈbeɾ/, [d̪eˈβ̞eɾ]

duty, owe, should

Noun deber m (plural deberes)

  1. obligation, duty
  2. debt
  3. should, ought (modal noun)
  4. (usually in the plural) homework

Verb deber (first-person singular present debo, first-person singular preterite debí, past participle debido)

  1. (transitive) to owe
    Debo mucho dinero.
    I owe a lot of money.
  2. (auxiliary) must, to need to, to have to (rarely used in the conditional with this meaning)
    Debo estudiar.
    I must study.
    Eso debe haber sido muy difícil.
    That must have been really hard.
  3. (auxiliary) should, to ought to, to be supposed to, to be to
    Debería haber un plan en marcha.
    There should be a plan in place.
    La gente no debería mensajear y conducir.
    People aren't supposed to text and drive.
    Deberías disculparte.
    You ought to apologize.
    Usted debe despertarse antes del amanecer.
    You are to be up before sunrise.
    Los niños deberían dormir un poco.
    The children should get some sleep.
  4. (auxiliary) should have (in the preterite; having haber follow "deber" is optional and not required)
    Debiste esperarme.
    You should have waited for me.
    Debiste haberme esperado.
    You should have waited for me.
  5. (auxiliary, emphatic) shall (future tense usually)
  6. (reflexive with preposition a) to be due to, to be attributable to, to be the result of, to be caused by
  7. (with de and infinitive) probably or most likely do or happen something (add a degree of insecurity to the verb)
    Debes de viajar por avión, China está muy lejos.
    You should travel by plane, China is very far away. or You probably need to fly there, China is very far away.

Source: Wiktionary available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Examples

  • Solo cumplí con mi deber.

    I only did my duty.

    Source

  • Cumple con su deber.

    He does his duty.

    Source

  • Creo que es mi deber proteger a estos niños.

    I believe it my duty to protect these children.

    Source

  • Es nuestro deber obedecer la ley.

    It is our duty to obey the law.

    Source

  • En todo caso, cumplí con mi deber.

    In any case, I did my duty.

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  • Inglaterra espera que todo hombre cumpla con su deber.

    England expects that every man will do his duty.

    Source

  • Él cumplió con su deber.

    He fulfilled his obligation.

    Source

  • Deberías cumplir con tu deber.

    You should carry out your duty.

    Source

  • Cumpliré con mi deber lo mejor que pueda.

    I will do my duty to the best of my ability.

    Source

  • Uno debe cumplir con su deber.

    One must do one's duty.

    Source

See more examples

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