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Dever in Portuguese

Ejemplo con el Verbo Deber en Portugués: Vocês devem participar das atividades RioLIVE! para melhorar seu português.

Hello, my friends! Are you ok? Today with our A Dica do Dia, we will study the verb dever in Portuguese, which can mean lots of things, such as: must, might, should and even to owe! Have you heard or can you use this verb? Let’s take a look!

Dever in Portuguese meaning

The verb dever in Portuguese can be used to talk about obligations, prohibitions, suppositions and suggestions. It depends on which tense we use. In addition, we can also use it to express that you owe someone something or vice-versa.

Verb dever conjugation in Portuguese

Good news! This verb is totally regular, so it will be very easy to learn! And to make it easier, we’ve marked the verb endings in bold! Ah! We have a very interesting Dica about the Portuguese verbs ending in ER!

So now that you know that this verb is regular, let’s learn it!

Indicative

Present Past Simple Imperfect Past
Eu devo Eu devi Eu devia
Você deve Você deveu Você devia
Ele/ ela deve Ele/ ela deveu Ele/ ela devia
Nós devemos Nós devemos Nós devíamos
Vocês devem Vocês deveram Vocês deviam
Eles/ elas devem Eles/ elas deveram Eles/ elas deviam

 

Past pluperfect simple Past pluperfect composed
Eu devera Eu tinha devido
Você devera Você tinha devido
Ele/ ela devera Ele/ ela tinha devido
Nós devêramos Nós tínhamos devido
Vocês deveram Vocês tinham devido
Eles/ elas deveram Eles/ elas tinham devido

 

Simple Future Immediate Future Future of the past
Eu deverei Eu vou dever Eu deveria
Você deverá Você vai dever Você deveria
Ele/ ela deverá Ele/ ela vai dever Ele/ ela deveria
Nós deveremos Nós vamos dever Nós deveríamos
Vocês deverão Vocês vão dever Vocês deveriam
Eles/ elas deverão Eles/ elas vão dever Eles/ elas deveriam

Imperative

Affirmative Negative
Deva você Não deva você
Deva ele/ ela Não deva ele/ ela
Devamos nós Não devamos nós
Devam vocês Não devam vocês
Devam eles/ elas Não devam eles/ elas

Subjunctive

Present Imperfect Past Future
Que eu deva Se eu devesse Quando eu dever
Que você deva Se você devesse Quando você dever
Que ele/ela deva Se ele/ela devesse Quando ele/ela dever
Que nós devamos Se nós devêssemos Quando nós devermos
Que vocês devam Se vocês devessem Quando vocês deverem
Que eles/elas devam Se eles/elas devessem Quando eles deverem

Other tenses

Personal infinitive Gerund Participle
Para dever eu Devendo Devido
Para dever você
Para dever ele/ela
Para devermos nós
Para deverem vocês
Para deverem eles/elas

Now that we know its conjugation, let’s see some examples explaining the ideas of the verb dever in Portuguese. Check this out:

Examples with must in Portuguese

Example with the verb dever in Portuguese: Você deve fazer exercício para ser saudável.

Você deve comer mais saudavelmente. É melhor para seu corpo.
You must eat more healthily. It’s better for your body.

 

Nós não devemos fumar em lugares fechados.
We mustn’t smoke in closed spaces.

 

Os estudantes devem ir nas Atividades RioLIVE! para praticar o português.
Students must go to the RioLIVE! activities to practice their Portuguese.

 

Carlos deve terminar as tarefas até às 14:00.
Carlos must finish his tasks by 2:00 pm.

 

Now let’s see some examples using dever with supposition ideas.

 

Examples with might in Portuguese

Example: Deve ter chovido hoje, a areia está molhada.

Paulo deve estar cansado, ele dormiu somente três horas.
Paulo might be tired, he only slept three hours.

 

O tempo está estranho hoje. Acho que deve chover mais tarde.
The weather is weird today. I think it might rain later.

 

Ana deve estar dormindo agora mas eu não tenho certeza.
Ana may be sleeping now but I am not sure.

 

Albert quer falar conosco. Nós devemos ter uma reunião hoje.
Albert wants to talk to us. We might have a meeting today.

 

And this is how we use the verb dever to make suggestions in Portuguese:

Examples with should in Portuguese

Example with the verb dever: Se você vier ao Rio, você deve ir ao Maracanã.

Você deveria parar de fumar.
You should stop smoking.

 

Eu deveria comer menos. Estou muito gordo.
I should eat less. I’m too fat.

 

Amiga! Você deveria conversar com seu namorado sobre isso.
Girl! You should talk to your boyfriend about that!

 

Nós deveríamos estudar Português no Brasil.
We should study Portuguese in Brazil.

 

Examples with dever as to owe

Example: Você me deve dinheiro pelo passeio de asa-delta.

Clarice me emprestou dinheiro ontem, estou devendo 10 reais para ela.
Clarice lent me money, I owe her 10 reais.

 

Eu devo minha vida aos meus pais.
I owe my life to my parents.

 

Não quero dever dinheiro a ninguém.
I don’t want to owe anyone any money. 

 

Exercise for the verb dever in Portuguese

Want to practice now? Here is an exercise for you! You have to read the sentences with the verb dever in Portuguese and conjugate the verb in the correct form.

  1. Eu _______ tomar banho mesmo que esteja no inverno carioca.
  2. Seu pai sempre diz que você não _______ ter medo.
  3. Os alunos _______  falar somente em português durante a aula.
  4. Eu acredito que ela _______ chegar atrasada, já são 18:50.
  5. Os gêmeos não _______ estar em casa essa hora, vá lá mais tarde.
  6. Quando eu era mais nova, _______ ter estudando mais inglês.
  7. “_______ ter me importado menos com os problemas pequenos.”
  8. Amanhã, nós _______ ir ao shopping depois da aula.
  9. Nós _______ sempre nos colocar no lugar dos outros.
  10. Hoje vocês _______ escrever um texto em português com o verbo dever!
  11. Nossos filhos _______ batalhar para conseguir chegar onde chegamos.
  12. Não _______ dinheiro aos outros, o pagamento sempre gera confusão.
  13. Jorge _______ dinheiro ao banco até hoje, se seu melhor amigo não o tivesse ajudado.

Curiosity: Do you see that number 7 is in quotes marks? That’s because it is a real quote from a Brazilian song called Epitáfio that you can listen to here. Read the lyrics and practice the dever Portuguese conjugation!

That’s it, my friends! We finish here our Dica talking about the verb dever in Portuguese. Check out other Dicas to learn even more! And follow us on Instagram to see more of our school!

Bye, bye friends!
Hugs from Rio & Learn!

Ler esta Dica em Português          Leer esta Dica en Español
Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Portuguese verbs ending in -ER
Verbs ending in -ER in the past in Portuguese
Verbs ending in -AR in the present
Portuguese Regular Verbs

Exercise for the verb dever in Portuguese. Answers:

  1. Eu devo tomar banho mesmo que esteja no inverno carioca. 
  2. Seu pai sempre diz que você não deve ter medo. 
  3. Os alunos devem falar somente em português durante a aula. 
  4. Eu acredito que ela deva chegar atrasada, já são 18:50.
  5. Os gêmeos não devem estar em casa essa hora, vá lá mais tarde. 
  6. Quando eu era mais nova, devia ter estudando mais inglês.
  7. “Devia ter me importado menos com os problemas pequenos.”
  8. Amanhã, nós deveremos ir ao shopping depois da aula. 
  9. Nós devemos sempre nos colocar no lugar dos outros. 
  10. Hoje vocês devem escrever um texto em português com o verbo dever!
  11. Nossos filhos deverão batalhar para conseguir chegar onde chegamos.
  12. Não deva dinheiro aos outros, o pagamento sempre gera confusão.
  13. Jorge deveria dinheiro ao banco até hoje, se seu melhor amigo não o tivesse ajudado. 

This post is also available in: English Português (Portuguese) Español (Spanish)

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