Dovere means "to have to" or "must", and with a direct object it means "to owe". It is one of the three core modal verbs of Italian, so it sits in front of an infinitive in a huge number of everyday sentences about obligations, plans and advice.
Infinitive
dovere
English
to have to, must; to owe
Auxiliary
avere or essere
Past participle
dovuto
Gerund
dovendo
Modal verb with an irregular present: the stem moves between dev- and dobb- (devo, devi, deve, dobbiamo, devono), and only voi dovete keeps the stem of the infinitive. You may also meet debbo and debbono in older or formal writing. The future and conditional drop the e of the infinitive: dovrò, dovrai, dovrei, dovremmo. The present subjunctive uses debb- (che io debba, che loro debbano) but dobbiamo and dobbiate for noi and voi. The passato remoto has two sets of forms in use; the tables show dovetti, dové and dovettero. Dovere has no imperative: you cannot give someone the order "must".
Most of the time dovere is followed directly by an infinitive, with no preposition in between: devo andare, dobbiamo parlare. The present states an obligation, the conditional softens it into advice (dovresti riposare, "you should rest"), and the past conditional expresses regret (avrei dovuto dirtelo, "I should have told you"). Dovere also makes guesses: deve essere stanco means "he must be tired". Without an infinitive it means "to owe", as in ti devo un favore. As a noun, il dovere is "duty".
In compound tenses dovere normally takes the auxiliary of the infinitive that follows it. With a verb that takes avere you use avere: ho dovuto lavorare. With a verb that takes essere, careful Italian uses essere, and the participle agrees with the subject: sono dovuto partire, Laura è dovuta partire, siamo dovuti tornare. In everyday speech many people use avere here too (ho dovuto partire), and this is accepted. With a reflexive infinitive, the position of the pronoun decides: mi sono dovuto alzare, but ho dovuto alzarmi. When the infinitive is essere, or when dovere stands alone or means "to owe", the auxiliary is avere: ho dovuto essere paziente.
Dovere in context
Presente:Domani devo alzarmi alle sei per prendere il treno. (Tomorrow I have to get up at six to catch the train.)
Presente:Ti devo ancora dieci euro per la pizza. (I still owe you ten euros for the pizza.)
Passato Prossimo:Ieri sera ho dovuto lavorare fino a tardi. (Last night I had to work late.)
Imperfetto:Da bambino dovevo sempre finire i compiti prima di uscire. (As a child I always had to finish my homework before going out.)
Futuro Semplice:Dovrai portare un documento d'identità all'esame. (You will have to bring an ID document to the exam.)
Condizionale Presente:Dovresti parlare con il medico di questo dolore. (You should talk to the doctor about this pain.)
Condizionale Passato:Avremmo dovuto prenotare il ristorante con più anticipo. (We should have booked the restaurant further in advance.)
Congiuntivo Presente:Non credo che tu debba scusarti. (I don't think you need to apologize.)
Common expressions with dovere
deve essere: it must be, he or she must be. Dovere also expresses a confident guess: deve essere tardi, "it must be late".
dovere qualcosa a qualcuno: to owe someone something. Gli devo la vita: "I owe him my life".
come si deve: properly, as it should be done. Un lavoro fatto come si deve: "a job done properly".
essere dovuto a: to be due to, to be caused by. Il ritardo è dovuto al traffico: "the delay is due to the traffic".
fare il proprio dovere: to do one's duty
chi di dovere: the person responsible, the proper authorities. Mi rivolgerò a chi di dovere: "I will take it up with the people in charge".
Common mistakes
Devo partire domani., not Devo di partire domani. (I have to leave tomorrow.). English "have to" contains "to", but dovere takes the bare infinitive. Do not put di or a between dovere and the next verb. The same is true of potere and volere.
Avrei dovuto chiamare prima., not Dovrei avere chiamato prima. (I should have called earlier.). In English the past goes on the second verb ("should have called"). In Italian the past goes on dovere: put dovere in the condizionale passato (avrei dovuto) and keep the next verb in the plain infinitive.
Mi sono dovuto alzare presto., not Mi ho dovuto alzare presto. (I had to get up early.). When the reflexive pronoun comes before dovere, the auxiliary must be essere. If you prefer avere, attach the pronoun to the infinitive instead: ho dovuto alzarmi presto.
It depends on the verb that follows. Dovere borrows the auxiliary of its infinitive: ho dovuto studiare (studiare takes avere), but sono dovuta uscire (uscire takes essere), with agreement in gender and number. Everyday speech often uses avere in both cases. Dovere takes avere when it stands alone, when it means "to owe", and when the infinitive is essere: ha dovuto essere operato.
What is the past participle of dovere?
Dovuto. It is regular, built like other -ere participles in -uto. As an adjective it also means "due" or "owed": l'importo dovuto is "the amount due".
Is dovere irregular?
Yes. The present (devo, dobbiamo, devono), the present subjunctive (debba, debbano), and the shortened future and conditional stem dovr- (dovrò, dovrei) are all irregular. The imperfect (dovevo), the imperfect subjunctive (dovessi) and the participle dovuto are regular.
How do you say "should" and "should have" in Italian?
Use the conditional of dovere. "You should" is dovresti, "we should" is dovremmo: dovresti dormire di più. "Should have" is the past conditional plus an infinitive: avresti dovuto dirmelo, "you should have told me".
Does dovere have an imperative?
No. Dovere describes an obligation, so there is no command form, and the imperative rows in the table are empty. To tell someone what they must do, use the present (devi finire entro stasera) or the imperative of the main verb (finisci entro stasera).