Debían (en. Should)

/deˈβjan/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishSpanish

verb

Indicates an obligation or responsibility in the past.

They should have submitted the report before the deadline.

Ellos debían presentar el informe antes de la fecha límite.

Suggestion or unmet expectation.

According to the agreement, all team members should have attended.

Según el acuerdo, debían asistir todos los miembros del equipo.

Participates in the construction of compound sentences indicating past actions.

If they wanted to go out, they should have finished their work first.

Si querían salir, debían terminar su trabajo primero.

From the Latin 'debere', which means to have to.

they should have known

Expression indicating that someone should have been aware of something.

debían haberlo sabido

what they should have done

Refers to the responsibility that someone had to fulfill.

lo que debían hacer

they should have been present

Indicates the obligation to attend a place or event.

debían estar presentes

duty

Obligation to do something.

deber

obligation

Duty that someone has to fulfill.

obligación

responsibility

Ability to bear the consequences of one's own decisions.

responsabilidad

Used among friends to refer to what would be the right thing to do.

They should have come to the party, it was the best of the year.

Debían haber venido a la fiesta, fue la mejor del año.

Mentioning an unmet expectation in a complaining tone.

Oh, they should have been here a while ago, they always run late.

Ay, debían estar aquí hace rato, siempre se retrasan.