deber
must, should
Expresses obligation or responsibility
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
debt
something owed
+
-er
verb suffix
Deber means must or should and is related to the English word debt0. Nearly all of its uses connect back to the idea of an obligation that must be fulfilled.
deber
must, have to, should, ought to (obligation)
If you must do something or should do it, that's an obligation — a debt you owe.
- Debes llegar a tiempo = You must arrive on time (it's your obligation to arrive on time)
- Debemos respetar las reglas = We have to respect the rules (it's your obligation to respect the rules)
must, must be (certainty)
If something "must" be true, you're certain of it — it's a way of expressing your degree of confidence in something.
- Debe tener unos treinta años = She must be around thirty years old
- Debe estar en casa = He must be home
to owe
A debt you owe to someone — whether money or something else.
- Te debo veinte euros = I owe you twenty euros (twenty euros is my debt to you)
duty, obligation (noun)
As a noun, a deber is a debt of responsibility — something you are obligated to do.
- Es mi deber proteger a mi familia = It is my duty to protect my family (it's my obligation)
los deberes
homework, assignment (school)
Your assignments are the tasks you owe your teacher.
- No puedo salir hasta que termine los deberes = I can't go out until I finish my homework (I owe my teacher this work)
deberse a [something]
to be due to, to be caused by
When a situation or outcome 'owes itself' to something, that something is the reason it happened — it's responsible for causing it.
- El retraso se debe a un problema técnico = The delay is due to a technical problem (the delay owes itself to a technical problem)
- Su éxito se debe a años de esfuerzo = Her success is due to years of effort (her success owes itself to years of effort)