Deber Conjugation | How to Conjugate Deber in Spanish

Deber means “to owe” and can also express obligation, advice, or probability when it introduces another verb. You will learn its regular -ER forms and how meaning changes across its main infinitive constructions.

Deber conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular ER. Linguistically, this is a regular -ER verb. Its stem deb- remains stable, the gerund debiendo — “owing” — and participle debido — “owed” — are regular, and its main complexity is semantic: the forms can express debt, obligation, or probability depending on the construction.

Deber gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. With haber, the participle remains invariant for gender and number.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	deber	to owe; should, must
Gerund	debiendo	owing
Past participle	debido	owed

Deber meaning and essential uses

With a noun object, deber can mean “to owe”: Debo cien euros. — “I owe one hundred euros.”

With an infinitive, deber + infinitive commonly expresses obligation or duty: Debemos salir temprano. — “We should / must leave early.” The DLE also records deber de + infinitive for probability or inference, as in Debe de estar en casa. — “He / she is probably at home.”

Deber regular conjugation pattern

Linguistically, this is a regular -ER verb. Its stem deb- remains stable, the gerund debiendo — “owing” — and participle debido — “owed” — are regular, and its main complexity is semantic: the forms can express debt, obligation, or probability depending on the construction.

Morphology is regular; the main learning challenge is choosing the meaning and construction. The forms themselves do not require a stem change, spelling alternation, irregular gerund, or irregular participle.

Deber indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Deber present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for present actions, habits, facts, and current states. The explanation below follows this verb’s verified present-tense pattern. The regular -ER present uses the stem deb- plus the expected endings. The same finite forms can introduce an infinitive when the verb expresses obligation.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	debo	I owe
Tú — you, singular informal	debes	you owe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	debe	he / she owes; you owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	debemos	we owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	debéis	you owe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	deben	they owe; you owe (plural)

• Debo dinero al banco. — I owe money to the bank.

Deber preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table shows this verb’s verified preterite family. The preterite follows the regular -ER pattern, with every person translated in the table.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	debí	I owed
Tú — you, singular informal	debiste	you owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	debió	he / she owed; you owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	debimos	we owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	debisteis	you owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	debieron	they owed; you owed (plural)

• Debimos pagar la factura ayer. — We had to pay the bill yesterday.

Deber imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for past habits, background descriptions, and situations viewed as ongoing. The table shows the verified imperfect forms.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	debía	I used to owe / owed
Tú — you, singular informal	debías	you used to owe / owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	debía	he / she used to owe / owed; you used to owe / owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	debíamos	we used to owe / owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	debíais	you used to owe / owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	debían	they used to owe / owed; you used to owe / owed (plural)

• De niño debía ayudar en casa. — As a child, I was expected to help at home.

Deber present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with a present form of estar — “to be” — plus the verified gerund. With the lexical “owe” sense, estar debiendo — “to be owing / currently owe” — is possible when the context presents the debt as a current situation. Because this sense is often stative, the progressive is an aspectually marked choice rather than a neutral replacement for the simple present.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy debiendo	I currently owe
Tú — you, singular informal	estás debiendo	you currently owe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está debiendo	he / she currently owes; you currently owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos debiendo	we currently owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis debiendo	you currently owe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están debiendo	they currently owe; you currently owe (plural)

• Le estoy debiendo dinero a mi hermano. — I currently owe my brother money.

Deber near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses a plan, intention, or expected event. Form it with a present form of ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and the infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a deber	I am going to owe
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a deber	you are going to owe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a deber	he / she is going to owe; you are going to owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a deber	we are going to owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a deber	you are going to owe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a deber	they are going to owe; you are going to owe (plural)

• Voy a deber otra cuota el mes próximo. — I am going to owe another payment next month.

Deber future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where context supports it, probability. The table shows the verified future forms. Future endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	deberé	I will owe
Tú — you, singular informal	deberás	you will owe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	deberá	he / she will owe; you will owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	deberemos	we will owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	deberéis	you will owe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	deberán	they will owe; you will owe (plural)

• Deberás presentar el documento mañana. — You will have to present the document tomorrow.

Deber conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or other conditional meanings supported by context. Conditional forms are especially common for recommendations and softened obligation.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	debería	I would owe
Tú — you, singular informal	deberías	you would owe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	debería	he / she would owe; you would owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	deberíamos	we would owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	deberíais	you would owe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	deberían	they would owe; you would owe (plural)

• Deberíamos revisar los datos otra vez. — We should review the data again.

Deber present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Form it with present haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the past participle. Distribution of the present perfect varies across Spanish-speaking regions. The participle is debido — “owed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he debido	I have owed
Tú — you, singular informal	has debido	you have owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha debido	he / she has owed; you have owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos debido	we have owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis debido	you have owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han debido	they have owed; you have owed (plural)

• He debido cancelar la reunión. — I have had to cancel the meeting.

Deber past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with imperfect haber plus the invariant past participle. The participle is debido — “owed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había debido	I had owed
Tú — you, singular informal	habías debido	you had owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había debido	he / she had owed; you had owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos debido	we had owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais debido	you had owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían debido	they had owed; you had owed (plural)

• Habíamos debido esperar varias horas. — We had had to wait several hours.

Deber future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with future haber plus the invariant past participle. The participle is debido — “owed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré debido	I will have owed
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás debido	you will have owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá debido	he / she will have owed; you will have owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos debido	we will have owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis debido	you will have owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán debido	they will have owed; you will have owed (plural)

• Para entonces habrás debido tomar una decisión. — By then you will have had to make a decision.

Deber conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with conditional haber plus the invariant past participle. The participle is debido — “owed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría debido	I would have owed
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías debido	you would have owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría debido	he / she would have owed; you would have owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos debido	we would have owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais debido	you would have owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían debido	they would have owed; you would have owed (plural)

• Habríamos debido avisar antes. — We should have notified them earlier.

Deber subjunctive conjugations

Deber present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate contexts involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The table shows this verb’s verified present-subjunctive family. The present subjunctive uses the regular -ER pattern; deba — “that I owe / may have to” — shows the family, and the translated table supplies every person.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	deba	that I owe
Tú — you, singular informal	debas	that you owe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	deba	that he / she owe; that you owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	debamos	that we owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	debáis	that you owe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	deban	that they owe; that you owe (plural)

• Es posible que deba pagar una tasa. — It is possible that I may have to pay a fee.

Deber imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table; the two series should not be treated as mechanically interchangeable in every special construction.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	debiera	that I owed
Tú — you, singular informal	debieras	that you owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	debiera	that he / she owed; that you owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	debiéramos	that we owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	debierais	that you owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	debieran	that they owed; that you owed (plural)

• Querían que debiéramos menos dinero. — They wanted us to owe less money.
• Era importante que debieses conocer la norma. — It was important that you should know the rule.

Deber future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts and is included here as a reference system.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	debiere	if / when I should owe
Tú — you, singular informal	debieres	if / when you should owe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	debiere	if / when he / she should owe; if / when you should owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	debiéremos	if / when we should owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	debiereis	if / when you should owe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	debieren	if / when they should owe; if / when you should owe (plural)

• Quien debiere una cantidad deberá declararla. — Whoever should owe an amount must declare it.

Deber present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with present-subjunctive haber plus the invariant past participle.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya debido	that I have owed
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas debido	that you have owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya debido	that he / she has owed; that you have owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos debido	that we have owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis debido	that you have owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan debido	that they have owed; that you have owed (plural)

• Es posible que haya debido cambiar el plan. — It is possible that he may have had to change the plan.

Deber past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. The past participle remains invariant.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera debido	that I had owed
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras debido	that you had owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera debido	that he / she had owed; that you had owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos debido	that we had owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais debido	that you had owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran debido	that they had owed; that you had owed (plural)

• Si hubiéramos debido más dinero, lo habríamos declarado. — If we had owed more money, we would have declared it.
• Si hubieses debido presentar otro documento, te habrían avisado. — If you had been required to present another document, they would have notified you.

Deber future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It is a reference form used mainly in formal, legal, literary, or historical contexts. Form it with future-subjunctive haber plus the invariant past participle.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere debido	if / when I should have owed
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres debido	if / when you should have owed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere debido	if / when he / she should have owed; if / when you should have owed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos debido	if / when we should have owed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis debido	if / when you should have owed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren debido	if / when they should have owed; if / when you should have owed (plural)

• Si hubieren debido alguna cantidad, deberán indicarla. — If they should have owed any amount, they must state it.

Deber imperative and commands

Spanish records imperative forms for this verb. Because its core meanings concern debt and obligation, these forms have limited practical value as direct learner commands; the tables preserve the verified morphology as reference, while obligation is ordinarily expressed through a finite form plus an infinitive.

Deber affirmative commands

The affirmative imperative forms are morphologically valid, but their core meanings make them more useful as reference forms than as routine learner commands. Ordinary obligation is more naturally stated with a finite form of the target verb plus an infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	debe	owe
Usted — you, singular formal	deba	owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	debamos	let’s owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	debed	owe (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	deban	owe (plural)

• Debed respeto a quienes os ayudaron. — Owe respect to those who helped you. (formal and uncommon direct imperative use)

Deber negative commands

Negative imperative forms use the present subjunctive. For the core meanings, treat these as morphology to recognize rather than as a preferred everyday instruction pattern; the table records the standard forms without overstating their practical importance.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no debas	do not owe
Usted — you, singular formal	no deba	do not owe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no debamos	let’s not owe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no debáis	do not owe (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no deban	do not owe (plural)

• No debas dinero que no puedas pagar. — Do not owe money that you cannot repay. (uncommon direct imperative use)

Common constructions with Deber

These target-verb patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the verb is used.

• deber dinero a alguien. — to owe money to someone.
• deber + infinitive. — should / must + verb; obligation or duty.
• deber de + infinitive. — must / may probably + verb; probability or inference.

Example sentences with Deber

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already explained in the lesson.

• Debo terminar este trabajo hoy. — I must finish this work today.
• Debemos dos facturas al proveedor. — We owe two invoices to the supplier.
• Debe de estar cerca. — He / she is probably nearby.
• Deberías descansar un poco. — You should rest a little.
• Hemos debido cambiar de ruta. — We have had to change route.
• Es posible que deban esperar. — It is possible that they may have to wait.

Regional and usage notes for Deber

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. In regions using voseo, present-indicative and affirmative-command forms can differ from the core tú forms. The verified forms below are regional additions, not replacements for the main paradigm.

• Vos debés revisar la factura. — You should review the bill. (voseo)
• Debé solo lo que puedas pagar. — Owe only what you can afford to pay. (affirmative vos command; uncommon direct command use)

Morphology is straightforward, but meaning is not. First decide whether the sentence expresses debt, obligation with an infinitive, or probability through the probability construction; then apply the regular -ER form required by the tense or mood.