B1 · Can, want, must
Advising and recommending
Three weights of advice, and the heaviest is already a reproach.
At a glance
- Remember
- devias advises, é melhor weighs, fazias melhor warns.
- Form
- (eu) deviaI should
- Signal words
- devias
- devia
- é melhor
- era melhor
- devias ter
- Trap
- Wrong:É melhor em partir agora.Right:É melhor partir agora.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker person ending
| I should | (eu) devia |
| you should | (tu) devias |
| he / she should, you should | (ele / ela / você) devia |
| we should | (nós) devíamos |
| you should, plural and formal | (vós) devíeis |
| they should, you should (plural) | (eles / elas / vocês) deviam |
| it is better | é melhor |
| it would be better | era melhor |
| you would do better to | fazias melhor em |
| you should have | devias ter |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
dever in the imperfect advises, in the present it obliges.
Devias descansar.You should rest.
é melhor plus the infinitive, with no preposition.
É melhor partir cedo.It is better to leave early.
fazias melhor em plus the infinitive, with em.
Fazias melhor em calar-te.You would do better to keep quiet.
devias ter plus participle looks back and reproaches.
Devias ter-me avisado.You should have warned me.
Example sentences
Devia consultar um médico.You should see a doctor.
É melhor reservar com antecedência.It is better to book in advance.
Fazias melhor em verificar duas vezes.You would do better to check twice.
Devíamos ter apanhado o comboio.We should have taken the train.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
After é melhor the infinitive follows directly; after fazias melhor it needs an em. Two pieces of advice that sound alike and part company at that one point.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English « should » is dever in the imperfect: devias. The same form that carries duty, weakened — and as with queria, the imperfect here is not a past tense.
É melhor is impersonal and therefore milder, the equivalent of « it is better to ». Era melhor is more cautious still — the imperfect again, as a softener.
Fazias melhor em is your « you'd better », warning and all. It is worth knowing that in both languages this is the heavy end: « you'd better sit down » is not a suggestion, and neither is fazias melhor em te sentares. Faz bem em, by contrast, praises a decision already taken.
And the heaviest weight is not advice at all. Devias ter plus a participle looks back: devias ter dito — you should have said. Nobody can act on that, which is what makes it a reproach.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: dever · ser · ter · fazer · partir · apanhar · avisar · reservar