You’ll use and hear dovere all the time in Italy. It can mean “to have to”, “must” or “should” and it’s useful for doing things like asking for more information about what you have to do, or explaining why you can’t make something because of what you have to get done.
In this post, you’ll see exactly how dovere works in two tenses that (we think) you’re most likely to need in Italy: the present tense and the conditional.
How to Use Dovere in the Present Tense
Before we look at the different ways you might use dovere in Italian, let’s look at how it works in the present tense.
| Devo | I have to | DEH-voh |
| Devi | You have to | DEH-vee |
| Deve | S/he has to, you (formal) have to | DEH-veh |
| Dobbiamo | We have to | Dohb-BYAH-moh |
| Dovete | You (plural) have to | Doh-VEH-teh |
| Devono | They have to | DEH-voh-noh |
Psst! A little reminder: in Italian, we usually leave out pronouns like “I” and “you” because the verb ending already shows who we’re talking about.
For example:
Dobbiamo andare al binario due -We have to go platform two.
Devo prendere il treno alle quattro. -I have to take the train at 4 o’clock.
Katie deve partire presto domani. -Katie has to leave early tomorrow.
In Italian when we use dovere , the verb that follows always stays in the base form, the infinitive (like andare, prendere, partire ).
Only dovere changes to tell us who is doing the action. So, once you know the different forms of dovere, you can make sentences without worrying about changing the form of the next verb.
Here are a few more examples:
Devono venire in stazione. -They have to come to the station.
Dobbiamo assolutamente vedere la villa di George Clooney sul lago di Como. - We absolutely have to see George Clooney’s villa by lake Como.
Devo comprare la crema solare. -I have to buy sun cream.
Dobbiamo tornare al hotel. -We have to go back to the hotel.
Devi provare questo tiramisù: è buonissimo! -You have to try this tiramisù: it’s delicious!
How to Use Dovere for Instructions
You’ll probably hear dovere used in Italy when an Italian gives you instructions.
For example:
Deve cambiare treno. -You (formal) have to change train.
Deve mostrare il biglietto all’ingresso. -You (formal) have to show your ticket at the entrance.
Dovete prendere il treno per Bologna - You (plural) have to take the train for Bologna
You can also use it yourself to ask questions to check what you have to do. You just have to raise your voice at the end to make it clear you’re asking a question.
For example:
Devo prenotare online? -Do I have to book online?
Devo aspettare qui? -Do I have to to wait here?
Dobbiamo pagare qui? -Do we have to pay here?
How to Use Dovere to Explain Why You Can’t Do Something
Dovere is really useful when you want to give an excuse, like if you can’t make something or have to leave early. It can help you sound softer and friendlier when you have to turn down an invitation.
For example:
Vorrei venire stasera, ma devo fare la valigia. -I’d like to come this evening, but I have to pack (lit. do) my suitcase
Dobbiamo andare perché dobbiamo prendere l'ultimo treno. -We have to go because we have to get the last train
How to Use Dovere to Talk About Things That Are Likely
Like in English, dovere can be used to say what you think “must” be the case. You’re saying what you think is likely, but you’re not sure.
For example:
I negozi sono chiusi. Deve essere un giorno festivo. -The shops are shut. It must be a public holiday.
Sono vestiti così bene. Devono essere italiani! -They’re so well-dressed. They must be Italians!
Che viaggio lungo. Devi essere molto stanco! -What a long trip. You must be very tired!
How to Use Dovere to Say What You “Should” Do
You can use dovere to talk about what you should do, like if an Italian gives you instructions or recommends something.
When you want to use “should” in Italian, you should use dovere in a tense that’s called the conditional (or condizionale in Italian). Here’s how it works:
| Dovrei | I should | Doh-VRAY |
| Dovresti | You should | Doh-VREH-stee |
| Dovrebbe | S/he should / You (formal) should | Doh-VREHB-beh |
| Dovremmo | We should | Doh-VREHM-moh |
| Dovreste | You (plural) should | Doh-VREH-steh |
| Dovrebbero | They should | Doh-VREHB-beh-roh |
For example:
Dovresti visitare Roma! -You should visit Rome!
Dovrebbe scendere alla prossima fermata. -You (formal) should get off at the next stop.
Dove dovremmo aspettare per il tour? -Where should we wait for the tour?
How to Use Dovere in Italian to Say “Have To” and “Must”
Here’s how to use dovere in two of the tenses that you’ll be most likely to need in Italy, the present and the conditional.
| Presente | Condizionale |
| Devo | Dovrei |
| Devi | Dovresti |
| Deve | Dovrebbe |
| Dobbiamo | Dovremmo |
| Dovete | Dovreste |
| Devono | Dovrebbero |
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to Learn Italian with Joy of Languages.
M: In today’s episode, you’ll learn how to use the Italian verb dovere, including how you can use it in lots of practical Italian phrases to get around Italy.
K: But before we get started, can we ask you a quick favore ? If you’re listening to this on your podcast app, could you click the subscribe or follow button? This way you’ll get notified when we release a new episode and you’ll help our podcast grow so we can keep making free lessons like this. Grazie !
M: You’re going to hear a conversation between me and Katie where we talk about going to Naples, where I’m from. See if you can hear the different forms of dovere that we use.
K: Dobbiamo comprare i biglietti per Napoli
M: Ma prima devi decidere quando andare
K: mm...questo mese devo fare molte cose
M: Ma non deve essere questo mese
K: Oppure andiamo solo un paio di giorni
M: No, rimandiamo
K: Perché?
M: A Napoli ho bisogno di tempo: devo mangiare molte pizze
K: I started by saying:
M: Dobbiamo comprare i biglietti per Napoli - We have to buy the tickets for Naples. Literally:
Dobbiamo - we have to
Comprare - buy
I - the
Biglietti - tickets
Per - for
Napoli - Naples
K: You heard the first form of the verb:
M: Dobbiamo. We have to. Dobbiamo. We could also translate dovere in Italian with “must”, so dobbiamo can also mean “we must”.
K: There’s not a huge difference in English between “to have to” and “must”. Often they can be used interchangeably. But in Italian you don’t have to worry about choosing between two words because the word dovere means both things.
M: We know dobbiamo means we have to, because we've got the we ending, - iamo. We have to or we must is: dobbiamo (x2)".
K: Going back to our conversation about going to Naples, Matteo said:
M: Ma prima devi decidere quando andare - But first you have to decide when to go. Literally:
Ma - But
Prima - first
Devi - you have to
Decidere - decide
Quando - when
Andare - to go
K: First you heard “we have to”
M: Dobbiamo
K: And now you heard “you have to”
M: Devi (x2).
K: So the ending for “you have to”, devi, is an -i, pronounced ee in Italian. We use this when we’re talking to just one person who’s a friend or someone we know well. For example, your Italian friend might use this to give you information or instructions, like devi prenotare online - you have to book online.
M: When we use dovere, we just change the endings of dovere to show who we’re talking about. The next verb always stays the same. For example, we’d say devi andare, “you have to go”. And dobbiamo andare . “We have to go”. There’s no change to andare , “to go” . Devi andare, dobbiamo andare.
K: After Matteo told me I needed to decide when to go to Naples, I replied: M: mm...questo mese devo fare molte cose - this month I have to do lots of things. Literally:
Questo - This
Mese - month
Devo - I have to
Fare - do
Molte - many
Cose - things
K: So far you’ve heard “we have to”
M: Dobbiamo (x2)
K: And “you have to, in the informal”
M: Devi (x2)
K: Now you’ve heard “I have to”
M: Devo (x2). It ends in an -o, which is the ending for “I”, as in I have to or I must.
K: You might use devo in Italy to ask for information. For example, you could say devo pagare qui? Do I have to pay here? Devo pagare qui? The literal English translation can sound a little harsh here - if we’re trying to figure out how a system works, we might say something like “shall I pay here”? But in Italy devo sounds quite natural, especially if you’re talking about yourself and you say it with a soft tone of voice.
M: To make it a question, you just raise your voice at the end: Devo pagare qui?
K: After I’d said that I had lots of things to do, Matteo replied:
M: Ma non deve essere questo mese - But it doesn’t have to be this month. In other words, it doesn’t have to be this month that we go to Naples. Literally:
Ma - but
Non - not
Deve - it has to
Essere - be
Questo - this
Mese - month
K: So to recap again, we’ve heard “we have to”
M: Dobbiamo
K: “You informal have to”
M: Devi
K: “I have to”
M: Devo
K: And now you’ve heard “it has to”
M: Deve (x2)
K: Deve ends with the letter -e, which is pronounced “eh” in Italian. Deve. Deve is a really useful one to know because it can mean lots of things. It can mean “he has to, she has to or it has to”, so the third person. But it can also mean “you formal have to”, so the “you” you use with people you don’t know well. That’s because the “you formal” ending Italian is always the same as the third person he, she or it ending. In this case: deve. Kind of makes sense as you’re creating some formal distance.
M: You might hear the formal deve used when someone you don’t know gives you instructions in Italy, like someone in a shop or at the train station. For example they might say deve cambiare treno. You have to change trains. Deve cambiare treno.
K: Then, after Matteo said it didn’t have to be this month, I said:
M : Oppure andiamo solo un paio di giorni - or we could go for just a couple of days. Literally:
Oppure - or
Andiamo - we go
Solo - only
Un - a
Paio - couple
Di - of
Giorni - days
K: You might know the word o for “or” in Italian. It’s the letter “o”, but it’s pronounced “oh”. You can also say the word oppure to say “or”. They’re usually interchangeable.
K: But then Matteo said:
M: No, rimandiamo - no, let’s go later. Literally:
No - no
Rimandiamo - we postpone
K: Rimandiamo comes from the verb rimandare in Italian. Inside this word, you can hear mandare, which means “ to send”. So rimandare literally means something like “to send again” or “send away”. It makes sense in a way because when you’re postponing, you’re kind of sending something off to later, or pushing it to another time.
And then I asked Matteo why he wanted to postpone:
M: Perché? - Why?
K: And he replied:
M: A Napoli ho bisogno di tempo - In Naples, I need time. Literally:
A - in
Napoli - Naples
Ho - I have
Bisogno - Need
Di - of
Tempo - time
K: And then he added:
K: Devo mangiare molte pizze - I have to eat lots of pizza. Literally:
Devo - I have to
Mangiare - to eat
Molte - many
Pizze - Pizzas
Now you’ve heard the different ways of saying dovere let’s see what you can remember.
K: How do we say “we have to”, like “we have to buy the tickets for Naples?
[...]
M: Dobbiamo (x2) . Like dobbiamo comprare i biglietti per Napoli.
K: And how would we say “you have to”, if we’re being informal? Like “you have to book online”.
[...]
M: Devi (x2). Like devi prenotare online.
K: And how would you say “I have to?” Like “I have to do lots of things?”
[...]
M: Devo (x2) . For example, devo fare molte cose.
K: And how do we say “he or she or it has to”? It’s also the same as the formal you, so you might hear it in a phrase like “you have to change train”.
[...]
M: Deve (x2) . For example, deve cambiare treno.
K: Ok, so you've heard most of the ways to say dovere in Italian. There are just two more. Once you hear these you’ll have all the forms you need for the present tense.
M: So there’s Dovete - You plural have to. Dovete.
K: You use this when you’re talking to more than one person and it works in both formal and informal situations.
M: Finally: Devono - they have to. Devono.
K: So putting that altogether we have:
M: Devo - I have to
Devi - you have to
Deve - formal you, or he, she or it has to
Dobbiamo - we have to
Dovete - plural you have to
Devono - they have to
K: Let’s listen to the conversation again
K: Dobbiamo comprare i biglietti per Napoli
M: Ma prima devi decidere quando andare
K: mm...questo mese devo fare molte cose
M: Ma non deve essere questo mese
K: Oppure andiamo solo un paio di giorni
M: No, rimandiamo
K: Perché?
M: A Napoli ho bisogno di tempo: devo mangiare molte pizze
K: In today’s episode, you’ve heard all the forms of dovere in the present tense. If you go to our website, you can see all the forms written out clearly in a table, so you can go back to it as many times as you need.
M: There, you’ll also find how to use dovere in a tense that we haven’t mentioned today. It will help you say and understand phrases like “you should visit Rome” or “you should take this train”.
K: And you’ll see how to use dovere in real situations in Italy, with practical phrases.
M: Just click the link in the description to head over to our website, or go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 225.
K: See you next time.
M: Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz: Dovere in Italian
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Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Dovere in Italian
Vocabulary
Deve mostrare il biglietto all’ingresso = You (formal) have to show your ticket at the entrance
Dobbiamo andare perché dobbiamo prendere l'ultimo treno = We have to go because we have to get the last train
Devo aspettare qui? = Do I have to wait here?
Dove dovremmo aspettare per il tour? = Where should we wait for the tour?
I negozi sono chiusi. Deve essere un giorno festivo = The shops are shut. It must be a public holiday
Deve cambiare treno = You (formal) have to change train
Dobbiamo comprare i biglietti per Napoli = We have to buy the tickets for Naples
Devo pagare qui? = Do I have to pay here?
Devi prenotare online = You have to book online
Devo fare molte cose = I have to do lots of things
Flashcards: How to Use Dovere
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
