How to Conjugate the Verb Dovere in Italian

How to Conjugate the Verb 'Dovere' in Italian Since people often talk about being obligated to do something, the Italian verb dovere comes in handy. The verb means to have to, to be obligated to, supposed to, and to owe.  Dovere is  a second-conjugation irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow the typical -ere verb ending pattern.   Dovere Basics Dovere is  a transitive verb, so it takes a  direct object. When it’s used as a modal verb, it usually takes the auxiliary verb required by the verb with which it is paired. Additionally: The infinito (infinitive) is dovere.The participio passato is dovuto.The gerund form is dovendo. The past gerund form is avendo dovuto. Conjugating Dovere The tables and explanations below show how to handle the verb in  all of its conjugations. Where available, links provide access to further information on the tenses and moods. Example Italian sentences and their translations follow each table. Indicativo (Indicative) Il presente io devo noi dobbiamo tu devi voi dovete lui, lei, Lei deve Essi, Loro devono Esempi   Examples: Devo veramente fare questi compiti? Must I really do this homework?Lei deve imparare l’Italiano, perchà © si trasferisce in Italia. She must learn Italian because she’s moving to Italy. Il passato prossimo io ho dovuto noi abbiamo dovuto tu hai dovuto voi avete dovuto lui, lei, Lei, ha dovuto loro, Loro hanno dovuto Esempi Examples: Leri ho dovuto comprare una macchina nuova perchà © la mia si à ¨ rotta. Yesterday I had to buy a new car because mine broke.In quel periodo, l’Internet non esisteva, quindi ha dovuto imparare l’Italiano da sola. During that time, the Internet didn’t exist so she had to learn Italian on her own. L’imperfetto io dovevo noi dovevamo tu dovevi voi dovevate lui, lei, Lei doveva loro, Loro dovevano Esempi: Dovevo incontrare il mio ragazzo proprio adesso, ma deve essere in ritardo! I think I was supposed to meet my boyfriend right now, but he must be late!E poi dovevamo trasferirci negli Stati Uniti per cominciare una nuova vita. And then we had to move to the United States to start a new life. Il trapassato prossimo io avevo dovuto noi avevamo dovuto tu avevi dovuto voi avevate dovuto lui, lei, Lei aveva dovuto loro, Loro avevano dovuto Esempi: Le ho raccontato tutto quello che avevamo dovuto fare per mantenerla all’Universit. I told her everything we had to do in order to support her during her university years.Mi dissero che avevano dovuto scendere dal treno perchà ¨ non avevano il biglietto. They told me they had to get off the train because they didn’t have a ticket. Il passato remoto io dovei/dovetti noi dovemmo tu dovesti voi doveste lui, lei, Lei dovette/(dov) loro, essi doverono/dovettero Esempi: Quando mia nonna ebbe quindici anni, dovette sposarsi. When my grandma was fifteen years old, she had to get married.Nel 1935 doverono lavorare tutto il giorno per guadagnare abbastanza soldi per sopravvivere.   In 1935, they had to work all day to earn enough money to survive. Il trapassato remoto io ebbi dovuto noi avemmo dovuto tu avesti dovuto voi aveste dovuto lui, lei, Lei ebbe dovuto loro, essi ebbero dovuto This tense is rarely used, so don’t worry too much about mastering it. You’ll find it in very sophisticated writing. Il futuro semplice io dovr noi dovremo tu dovrai voi dovrete lui, lei, Lei dovr loro, Loro dovranno Esempi: Dovremo andare in Toscana invece che in Lazio, perchà © non avremo abbastanza tempo per vedere tutto. We will have to go to Tuscany instead of Lazio, because we will not have enough time to see everything.Al termine della cena dovrà ² solo avviare la lavastoviglie e tutto sar pulito. At the end of the dinner, I will only have to start the dishwasher and everything will be clean. Il futuro anteriore io avr dovuto noi avremo dovuto tu avrai dovuto voi avrete dovuto lui, lei, Lei avr dovuto loro, Loro avranno dovuto Esempi: Per superare tutti gli esami, avr dovuto studiare per sette giorni su sette. In order to pass all of the exams, she will have had to study every day.Avrai dovuto avere tanta pazienza con i tuoi figli! You will have to had a lot of patience with your children!! CONGIUNTIVO (SUBJUNCTIVE) Il presente che io deva/ debba che noi dobbiamo che tu deva/debba che voi dobbiate che lui, lei, Lei deva/debba che loro, Loro devano/debbano Esempi: Peccato che debbano partire questa settimana! It’s a shame that they must leave this week!Mi dispiace che dobbiate andare a letto cosà ¬ presto! I’m sorry you have to go to bed so early! Il passato io abbia dovuto noi abbiamo dovuto tu abbia dovuto voi abbiate dovuto lui, lei, Lei abbia dovuto loro, Loro abbiano dovuto Esempi: Sono felice che abbiano dovuto aspettare il treno, altrimenti non avrebbero avuto vedere Marco. I was happy that they had to wait for the train, otherwise they wouldn’t have seen Marco.Mi dispiace che lei abbia dovuto lasciare l’Italia, non sapevo che la amassi cosà ¬ tanto. I’m sorry that she had to leave Italy, I didn’t know you loved her so much. L’imperfetto io dovessi noi dovessimo tu dovessi voi doveste lui, lei, Lei dovesse loro, Loro dovessero Esempi: Non pensavo che lui dovesse imparare il sardo, à ¨ cosà ¬ difficile! I didn’t think he had to learn the Sardinian language, it’s so difficult!Non sapevamo che dovessimo fare il checkout alle dieci! We didn’t know that we had to check out at ten! Il trapassato prossimo io avessi dovuto noi avessimo dovuto tu avessi dovuto voi aveste dovuto lui, lei, Lei avesse dovuto loro, Loro avessero dovuto Esempi: Se io avessi dovuto trasferirmi in un altro paese domani, avrei scelto la Nuova Zelanda. If I had to move to another country tomorrow, I would have choose New Zealand.Se avesse dovuto cercare un nuovo lavoro, avrebbe voluto fare l’insegnante.   If she had to look for a new job, she would have liked to be a teacher. CONDIZIONALE (CONDITIONAL) Il presente io dovrei noi dovremmo tu dovresti voi dovreste lui, lei, Lei dovrebbe loro, Loro dovrebbero Esempi: Dovrei studiare oggi, ma non voglio. I should study today, but I don’t want to.Dovremmo andare al mare, che ne pensi? We should we go to the sea, what do you think? Il passato io avrei dovuto noi avremmo dovuto tu avresti dovuto voi avreste dovuto lui, lei, Lei avrebbe dovuto loro, Loro avrebbero dovuto Avresti dovuto dirmelo! You should have told me!Avrebbero dovuto studiare di pià ¹. They should have studied more.

A Sample of Amateur Writing

A Sample of Amateur Writing A Sample of Amateur Writing A Sample of Amateur Writing By Maeve Maddox At a recent writers’ conference I heard a successful self-published author say, â€Å"Readers are not looking for great writing; they’re looking for a great story.† Does that mean that taking pains over grammar, diction, and syntax is a waste of time? Certainly not! Just because readers are not looking for â€Å"great writing† doesn’t mean that novelists shouldn’t be expected to produce good writing. Few writers have what it takes to produce â€Å"great writing,† but even a great storyteller requires professional writing skills to get the story across to the reader. The difference between amateur writing and professional writing is rewriting. Here is an extract from a self-published work. The fact that the book was self-published is not so important as the fact that the author published it before it was ready. Here the author describes a church interior: It had hat shelves and coat racks along both sides. There were double doors leading into the sanctuary, which was plain but neat. There was a carpeted main aisle that ran from the doors to the altar. There were neat rows of oak pews on both sides of the aisle. Secondary aisles ran along both sides of the church between the pews and the windows. On the raised platform in front, there was an altar, a lectern, and behind that were two rows of chairs for the choir. There was a fairly new piano on the left side of the platform The excerpt contains ten clauses, eight of which have was or were for the main verb. It contains 101 words, eight of them repeated at least once: aisle/s (3), pew/s (2), altar (2), rows (2), doors (2), platform (2), sides (3), neat (2). Of the seven sentences, four begin with There and one begins with It. The sentence that begins, â€Å"It had hat shelves,† produces a double take in the reader because the â€Å"had hat† looks like a typographical error. One paragraph like this every hundred pages might not trouble a reader, but this sample is typical of the book. Word choice is unimaginative, and passages abound that contain nothing to connect the scene to the story. Here is a description written by a professional novelist (P.D. James). The setting is the interior of a clinic for mental patients in a building that used to be a Georgian mansion: Behind the reception kiosk and with windows facing the square was the general office, part of which had been partitioned to form a small filing-room for the current medical records. Next to the general office was Miss Bolam’s room and, beyond that, the E.C.T. suite with its treatment-room, nurses’ duty-room and male and female recovery bays. This suite was separated by a hallway from the medical staff cloakroom, clerical staff lavatories and the domestic assistant’s pantry. At the end of the hallway was the locked side door, seldom used except by members of the staff who had been working late and who did not want to give Nagle the trouble of undoing the more complicated locks, bolts and chains on the front door. I’m not holding the second passage up as â€Å"great writing.† It resembles the previous passage in some ways. The word room–alone and in compounds–occurs five times; door and hallway occur twice each; was is used four times. But what James does that the other writer doesn’t do is vary language and syntax and relate the description to the story and the characters. The first writer could have done the same thing. Whether readers are looking for it or not, few novelists are capable of producing great writing. Anyone who aspires to publication, however, should know the difference between amateur writing and professional writing. It’s revision. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical WordsDifference between "Pressing" and "Ironing"January 1 Doesn't Need an "st"