B1 · Can, must, want
Guessing with dovere
« Must be » — the same double duty English gives to must.
At a glance
- Remember
- An action means have to; a state means must be.
- Form
- (io) devo essereI must be
- Signal words
- deve essere
- deve aver
- devi avere
- doveva
- Trap
- Wrong:Devi essere contento. — No, non voglio!Right:Devi essere contento. — Sì, molto!
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Italian. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) person ending
| I must be | (io) devo essere |
| you must be | (tu) devi essere |
| he / she must be, you must be (formal) | (lui / lei / Lei) deve essere |
| we must be | (noi) dobbiamo essere |
| you must be (plural) | (voi) dovete essere |
| they must be | (loro) devono essere |
| she must know | deve sapere |
| he must have forgotten | deve aver dimenticato |
| that must be expensive | deve costare caro |
| you must be hungry | devi avere fame |
| he must have been asleep | doveva dormire |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
dovere plus a state is a guess, not an obligation.
Deve essere in riunione.He must be in a meeting.
For the past: dovere plus avere or essere plus the participle.
Deve aver perso il treno.She must have missed the train.
The negative guess takes forse or probabilmente, not non dovere.
Probabilmente non lo sa.He probably does not know.
An action behind it means have to, a state behind it means must be.
Devi partire. / Devi essere stanco.You have to go. / You must be tired.
Example sentences
Deve avere una trentina d’anni.He must be about thirty.
Dovete essere stanchi dopo il viaggio.You must be tired after the journey.
Deve aver sbagliato giorno.She must have got the day wrong.
Devono essere passati vent’anni.It must be twenty years ago.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Devi essere a casa alle otto is an instruction and devi essere contento is a guess, and the two sentences look identical. English carries the same ambiguity in « you must be », so the trap is not in translating but in reading: taken as an order, a friendly remark becomes a command.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Dovere does not only mean « have to ». With a state behind it, it becomes a guess: Deve essere malato is not « he is obliged to be ill » but « he must be ill ».
English does exactly the same with « must », which is a rare piece of luck in this chapter. What English does not have is the second route: Italian also uses the futuro for a guess — sarà malato — and the two stand side by side.
In the past: deve aver dimenticato, « he must have forgotten ». The past sits in the infinitive behind dovere, not in dovere itself — English does the same, and the two line up word for word.
The negative guess goes through forse or probabilmente non, never through non dovere, which would be a prohibition. English « he mustn't be at home » is not a guess either.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: dovere · essere · avere · partire · sapere · perdere