Deber Conjugation

Deber is a Spanish regular ER verb meaning "to have to" or "must". Verbs are considered regular if they follow a predictable pattern when conjugated.

Deber is ranked on the 100 Most Used Spanish Verbs Poster as the #3 most used regular verb.

Deber Conjugation

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	debo	I have to
Tú	debes	You have to
Él/Ella/Ud.	debe	He/She has to
Nosotros	debemos	We have to
Vosotros	debéis	You (plural) have to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	deben	They have to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Deber Participio

The Participio or Past Participle of Deber is debido. This is used to form the Deber Present Perfect and the Deber Past Perfect.

Deber Gerundio

The Gerundio or Present Participle of Deber is debiendo. This is used to form the Deber Present Continuous.

Deber Present Continuous

The Present Continuous (presente progresivo or presente continuo) is used to describe actions that are happening right now or around now. To form the present continuous tense, combine the Estar conjugation with the Deber Gerundio (or Present Participle).

Example: Él está siendo muy egoísta últimamente. (He is being very selfish lately.)

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	estoy debiendo	I am having to
Tú	estás debiendo	You are having to
Él/Ella/Ud.	está debiendo	He/She is having to
Nosotros	estamos debiendo	We are having to
Vosotros	estáis debiendo	You (plural) are having to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	están debiendo	They are having to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Back to top

Deber Past Tense

Spanish has several past tenses, each serving a specific purpose to express actions in the past.

Additionally, the use of Spanish past tenses can vary significantly across regions due to cultural and linguistic differences.

These are some of the most commonly used Spanish past tenses:

Deber Preterite

The Preterite Tense (Pretérito or Indefinido) is used for completed actions in the past that have a clear beginning or end.

Example: Ayer comí pizza. (Yesterday, I ate pizza).

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	debí	I had to
Tú	debiste	You had to
Él/Ella/Ud.	debió	He/She had to
Nosotros	debimos	We had to
Vosotros	debisteis	You (plural) had to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	debieron	They had to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Back to top

Deber Imperfect

The Imperfect Tense (Imperfecto) describes ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past, often without a defined start or end.

Example: Cuando era niño, jugaba fútbol todos los días. (When I was a child, I used to play soccer every day).

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	debía	I used to have to
Tú	debías	You used to have to
Él/Ella/Ud.	debía	He/She used to have to
Nosotros	debíamos	We used to have to
Vosotros	debíais	You (plural) used to have to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	debían	They used to have to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Back to top

Deber Present Perfect

The Present Perfect Tense (Presente Perfecto) is used to describe actions that have been completed recently or have relevance to the present moment. The Present Perfect Tense is formed by combining the Present Tense of the auxiliary verb Haber Conjugation with the Deber Participio.

Example: He leído ese libro. (I have read that book).

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	he debido	I have had to
Tú	has debido	You have had to
Él/Ella/Ud.	ha debido	He/She has had to
Nosotros	hemos debido	We have had to
Vosotros	habéis debido	You (plural) have had to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	han debido	They have had to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Back to top

Deber Past Perfect

The Past Perfect Tense (Pluscuamperfecto) refers to actions completed before another action in the past. The Past Perfect Tense is formed by combining the Imperfect Tense of the auxiliary verb Haber Conjugation with the Deber Participio.

Example: Había comido antes de salir. (I had eaten before leaving).

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	había debido	I had had to
Tú	habías debido	You had had to
Él/Ella/Ud.	había debido	He/She had had to
Nosotros	habíamos debido	We had had to
Vosotros	habíais debido	You (plural) had had to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	habían debido	They had had to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Back to top

Deber Future Tense

The Future Tense (Futuro) is used to describe actions or events that will happen in the future. It often expresses certainty or plans about what is yet to come.

Example: Mañana comeré pizza. (Tomorrow, I will eat pizza).

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	deberé	I will have to
Tú	deberás	You will have to
Él/Ella/Ud.	deberá	He/She will have to
Nosotros	deberemos	We will have to
Vosotros	deberéis	You (plural) will have to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	deberán	They will have to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Back to top

Deber Conditional Tense

The Conditional Tense (Condicional) is used to express hypothetical situations, polite requests, or actions that depend on other conditions. It is often used in combination with the Future Tense.

Example: Me gustaría un café, por favor.(I would like a coffee, please).

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	debería	I would have to
Tú	deberías	You would have to
Él/Ella/Ud.	debería	He/She would have to
Nosotros	deberíamos	We would have to
Vosotros	deberíais	You (plural) would have to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	deberían	They would have to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Back to top

Deber Subjunctive

The Subjunctive Tense (Subjuntivo) is used to express doubt, uncertainty, desire, or emotion. It is often used in dependent clauses introduced by specific conjunctions or verbs.

Example: Espero que seas feliz. (I hope you are happy).

Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
Yo	deba	I have to
Tú	debas	You have to
Él/Ella/Ud.	deba	He/She has to
Nosotros	debamos	We have to
Vosotros	debáis	You (plural) have to
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.	deban	They have to

* Irregular forms are highlighted in red

Back to top

Spanish Regular Verbs

A verb is called a regular verb when its conjugation follows a consistent and predictable pattern. In contrast, a verb that does not follow these standard patterns is called an irregular verb. In Spanish, the three regular conjugation patterns are based on the verb endings: -AR, -ER, and -IR.

Back to top

Spanish Conjugation Chart

Looking for more Spanish verbs like Deber? Check out our Spanish Conjugation Chart, the 100 Most Used Spanish Verbs Poster!

Back to top

Back to

Spanish Verbs List