What does deber mean?
deber means to owe in English. It is a regular -er verb.
It can also be used with these related meanings: to be due to, to be attributable to, to be the result of, to be caused by.
Spanish verb guide
Deber Conjugation in Spanish
Learn deber, meaning to owe, through verified forms and contextual examples.
regular-ergerund: debiendoparticiple: debido
Principal forms of deber
- Infinitive
- deber
- Gerund
- debiendo
- Past participle
- debido
Deber conjugation table
Compare the present, preterite, imperfect, and future forms. Reflexive pronouns are included where the verb requires them.
| Pronoun | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | debo | debí | debía | deberé |
| tú | debes | debiste | debías | deberás |
| él / ella / usted | debe | debió | debía | deberá |
| nosotros/as | debemos | debimos | debíamos | deberemos |
| ellos/as / ustedes | deben | debieron | debían | deberán |
Pattern notes
- Deber follows the regular -er pattern in the four tenses shown here.
Examples with deber
Tom no me debe nada.Tom doesn't owe me anything.Tatoeba example · CC BY 2.0 FR
A él le debo mi vida.I owe him my life.Tatoeba example · CC BY 2.0 FR
Yo te debo 30 dólares.I owe you $30.Tatoeba example · CC BY 2.0 FR
Practice prompts
- Conjugate deber for yo in the present.
- Use the preterite form for ella.
- Say the nosotros/as imperfect form.
- Write a short sentence in the future.
Practice deber online
Use VerbyGo for a quick conjugation round with instant feedback and accent checking.