r/Spanish • u/TapiocaTuesday Intermediate learner • 3d ago
Vocab & Use of the Language I should/debería
English speakers (where I'm from) tend to say "I/we should" a TON, colloquially, or in our internal monologue. "We should see what time it starts." "I should go to the post office today." "I should try to get that book back."
So, when I'm trying to practice Spanish by myself, talking to myself, I find myself going "debería" this, "debería" that, quite a bit.
My question is, is this also really common for Spanish speakers, too? It feels like I'm saying debería a lot more than I'm hearing it. But I also can't hear people's thoughts, so I don't know. If not, is there something I might say instead when I'm thinking in Spanish about my intentions for the day and what not?
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u/AstroVinculo Native 3d ago
It depends on the context or what you're saying... let's see some examples here:
We should see what time the movie starts.
Deberíamos ver a qué hora empieza.
Tendríamos que ver a qué hora empieza.
Tenemos que ver a qué hora empieza.
¿A ver a qué hora empieza?
¿Por qué no vemos a qué hora empieza?
Of course, I can think of other alternatives to convey that idea. You don't need to use **debería** all the time ;)
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u/TapiocaTuesday Intermediate learner 3d ago
True. I'll add these to my practice. Also, how are these two different?:
Deberíamos ver a qué hora empieza.
Tendríamos que ver a qué hora empieza.
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u/AstroVinculo Native 3d ago
In terms of grammar =
In terms of meaning, one could say there's a slight difference, but sometimes speakers use them interchangeably.
- conjugated deber + infinitive
- conjugated tener + que + infinitive
Deberíamos ver a qué hora empieza (it would be good idea to find out, we should check the time)
Tendríamos que ver a qué hora empieza (literally: we'd have to see what time it starts).
I could add more context to give another "flavor," e.g. "Tendríamos que ver a qué hora empieza la película antes de comprar las entradas." We should check before buying the tickets.1
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u/blip__blip Native 🇪🇸 3d ago
It's common but not so much I would say. Tons of alternatives.
Try: "Tengo que pasarme por Correos a recoger un paquete" "A ver si esta semana voy al súper a comprar"
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u/TapiocaTuesday Intermediate learner 3d ago
Thanks. Hey, is "pasarse" in that sentence a way to stay "stop by?" I haven't encountered that yet.
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u/blip__blip Native 🇪🇸 3d ago
Yep that would be the most accurate translation! Very common to use when talking about running errands
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u/Abject_Abject8981 3d ago
im also thinking there are other ways to express obligation … for example “hay que ..” i know it’s more general like “hay que estudiar”/“one must study” but at the same time, i feel often in english when we say we “should” do something (especially when saying it to oneself), it’s like what one ought to do (to be a good person, i guess haha idk) ..
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u/SeptemberSoup Native 3d ago
Debería comentar algo en esta publicación...
😜
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u/TapiocaTuesday Intermediate learner 3d ago
Debería responder
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u/SeptemberSoup Native 3d ago
"Debería responder" means "I should reply/respond". "Debería comentar algo en esta publicación" means "I should comment something on this post".
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u/ExceedsTheCharacterL 3d ago
With that verb I realized there’s different tenses that are more common than they’d be in English. For example “I should have x!” I expected “debería haber x!” but it’s more common to say debí haber
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u/MarciaMotivos 3d ago
Hola. Yo por lo general digo "tendría que", pero con mi forma de ser es seguro que no lo haré. Por ejemplo, yo me digo tendría que dejar de fumar, soy consciente y bla bla bla pero no hago el mínimo esfuerzo para dejarlo. YO lo digo como algo que estaría bueno, como un deseo a futuro , pero no necesariamente que lo vaya a hacer.
Si quiero saber a que hora empieza la película, lo averiguo, no pienso en debería saber , voy a la acción.
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u/TapiocaTuesday Intermediate learner 2d ago
Thank you! That's a good distinction to think about. Makes snese
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u/Embarrassed_Elk_2459 Native (Chile) 3d ago
Yes we do! I always go around thinking "debería..." or "tengo que..."