# Deber: should, must, and deber de

> id: usage.obligation-deber · category: usage · depth: standard · levels: B1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Deber + infinitive = duty/should (debes descansar); debería softens to advice; deber de + infinitive = probability (debe de tener treinta años).

Deber is more formal/moral than tener que: los inquilinos deben avisar con un mes. Conditional debería(s) is the advice form: deberías consultarlo.

Deber de marks inference, not duty: debe de estar en una reunión ('he must be in a meeting'). In practice the de often drops, so context decides — but keep the distinction in writing.

Two things to keep separate: deber + infinitive is duty or moral 'should' (more formal than tener que), and its conditional debería softens to advice — but deber de + infinitive marks probability, not obligation (debe de estar en una reunión = 'he must be in a meeting'). The de often drops in speech, so context carries the difference; keep it in writing.

## Examples
- Deberías pedir todo por escrito. — You should ask for everything in writing.
- No contesta; debe de estar manejando. — He's not answering; he must be driving.
- Deberías descansar; debe de ser el cansancio. — You should rest; it must be tiredness.

Related: usage.obligation-tener-que, conjugation.conditional.regular, grammar.adverbs.affirmation-negation-doubt

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