"Usted debería beber más agua."
Translation:You should drink more water.
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Can this also mean "You should have drunk more water" if not how do you say this in spanish.
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you can also say "debiste haber bebido más agua" - I asked several native Spanish speakers and they say it means the exact same as Usted debería haber bebido más agua
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Thanks Furbolg, I get that a lot, in fact I think all my comments on this page have been voted down. I enjoy the intricacies of the conditional tense immensely.
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We have to be careful here. "Should have" has a pretty specific meaning in English. It's conditional perfect, which means the basis of the English sentence is "would have", even though in this case "would" has become should, as is so often, very confusingly the case in English. ccfeta, you and I have all approached this slightly differently and have come up with sentences with slightly different meanings. Your sentence translates as:
"You were supposed to have drunk more water", ccfeta's sentences translate as:
"You would be supposed to have drunk more water", and my sentence translates as:
"You would have been supposed to drink more water".
Just deciphering the subtle differences between these three translations can be brain-destroying but I believe that my translation is the only one that accurately captures the meaning and tense/aspect of the original English sentence.
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Conditions can involve the future, the past or the present.
There is just one form "conditional" in English, but be careful about other languages. There is Condicional and Condicional “im” Perfecto in Spanish, but just wait until you get to the subjunctive.
http://conjugator.reverso.net/conjugation-spanish-verb-poder.html
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When I said there's no such thing as a future conditional, I meant that it's not a separate conjugation form. I don't disagree with you that conditional forms can occur in the past, present or future. The conditional is arguably a separate tense after all.
There is no such thing as the Condicional Imperfecto (did you mean Subjuntivo Imperfecto?). The conditional by definition cannot be cordoned off into different tenses. There is a Condicional Perfecto, just like there is a conditional perfect in English. Your Reverso link supports all of this.
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Yes, my error! I don’t know how or why I added “im” there! That was wrong. Thank you!
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"You should have drunk more water." cannot be a future tense. celieduo was answering SyamkumarR's "...if not how do you say this?"
"You should drink more water." is about the future or a generalization about what you as a person should do.
Conditional in English can include present, past or future.
In Spanish, there is a Perfect conditional form for the past which is different from the conditional form used for the correct sentence for this lesson.
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Usually "should have" refers to a counterfactual past where the speaker informs the listener about preferred alternative behaviour. In this usual usage it is best paraphrased as "would have been supposed (to)".
It is also possible that it could refer to events in the future as "should" is a very versatile word. E.g. if you subscribe to the use of "shall" instead of "will" for the first person then the following sentence is possible:
If I were to run a marathon then I should have trained very hard for it.
And "You should drink more water" isn't necessarily about the future because it is conditional and as you said, conditional can include present, past or future.
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Saludos should es deberia o debe, me podrias poner algun ejemplo de favor, aqui hacen muchas equivalencias y eso confunde
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should = debería
must = debe
to have to = tener que
to need = necesitar
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I TRULY do not understand this section. It seems to me it is a random use of helper verbs in various tenses and that's all. Is that correct? Just new verbs in new tenses? It's not a particular tense? It's just that some verbs are helper verbs and are conjugated like any other verb? Or are they irregular? Gracias if you would answer.
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Yes! Modal verbs in English are helping verbs or auxiliary verbs and "should, could, would" can be timeless and are used in past, present or future in conditional, as well as in the regular past and are also used in polite requests (may, can, could, would) or in suggestions (should) or requirements (must) These are highly irregular in English.
In Spanish, the verbs are still conjugated and there are very specific forms depending on the function of the word. Try to remember that the first course made was the English for Spanish speakers and this is the reverse course of that. They need to expand this section for us, I believe.
Here is an excellent resource about the conditional: https://www.realfastspanish.com/grammar/the-spanish-conditional-tense-5-uses
This resource can help to figure out which tense is being used at the moment. http://conjugator.reverso.net/conjugation-spanish-verb-poder.html
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Why on earth aren't there any tips & and notes for these last lessons?It's really difficult to learn all the different forms without those.First the subjunctive and now that!I don't wanna think about what might be next...
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I agree that it would be nice to have Tips for this section on Verbs:Modal, and for the previous section on Verbs:Subjunctive/Imperative. I needed help with these 2 sections too, so I searched Google (remember to Search The Fine Web.) and found these "tips".
For Verbs:Subjunctive/Imperative -- http://studyspanish.com/lessons/subj1.htm , http://studyspanish.com/lessons/formcomm.htm , http://studyspanish.com/lessons/informcomm1.htm .
And for Verbs:Modal -- http://www.learn-spanish-online.de/grammar/chapter20_modal_verbs/20_1_modal_verbs_introduction.htm , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_verb , https://www.duolingo.com/comment/2381086 , http://blogs.transparent.com/spanish/spanish-lesson-beginner-33-the-modal-verb-can-in-spanish-el-verbo-poder/ .
Tambien:
https://es.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ingl%C3%A9s/Gram%C3%A1tica/Verbos_modales http://www.spanishdict.com/topics/show/68
1) http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/PASTSUBJ.HTM (2) http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/100058/imperfect-subjunctive#.UqPytvRDuVs (3)http://www.drlemon.com/Grammar/imp-subj.html#.UqPyX_RDuVs
Also see DL Discussion topic
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Thanks for the insight into how "debe" and "debería" work in Spanish. I agree that "must" and "should" have a relationship in both languages, but not that the difference is subtle in English. "Must" is used when the speaker considers the action compulsory: You must watch where you're going. "Should" is used when the statement is more of a request, albeit some requests are almost a command: You should watch where you're going. One distinction worth noting is that "must" and "ought" are each considered to be both present and past tenses in English, while "should" is viewed as a past tense (of "shall") in English. That's why English retains the almost obsolete word "ought"–it's versatility in terms of describing time/tense.
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Yes, that is one meaning of deber, but going from English to Spanish "should" is translated as "debería". Don't forget that "tener que" also means "to have to and "would have to" is often "tendría que". https://dictionary.reverso.net/english-spanish/should
http://context.reverso.net/translation/english-spanish/would+have+to
https://www.realfastspanish.com/grammar/the-spanish-conditional-tense-5-uses
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@ALLintolearning3 my comment was more about English than Spanish but I mostly I agree with you. Just bear in mind that "should" has lots of different meanings and not all of them equate to "debería".
Also, as you are no doubt aware, "must" does not have a conditional form in modern English and thus uses the same conditional form as "have to" ("would have to"). When "would have to" is a form of "must" it translates better to "debería" and when it is a form of "have to" it translates better to "tendría que". So things are not as simple as a 1:1 translation.
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"Should" isn't the conditional of "must", "should" is the conditional of "shall". "would have to" is the only conditional form of "must" (except for archaically where "must" originated as a conditional form). Bottom line is that moving to conditional does not soften the meaning.
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Yes, "deber" can mean either, now check "debería"
https://www.realfastspanish.com/grammar/the-spanish-conditional-tense-5-uses
Based on the RAE (http://buscon.rae.es/dpd/?key=deber&origen=REDPD) deber is obligation and deber de is probability.
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I've created a mnemonic device to help me memorize the difference. "DeSPiCable". The first four consonants form "DSPC" , DS -> Deberia - Should, PC -> Podria - Could. This has helped me a bit through this section.
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"Deber" can be either, but check the conditional. "Debe" was previously presented as "must". "Debería" is "should"
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Seeing as "debería" is the conditional form, why not "You would have to drink more water."?
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That would be "Tendría que beber más agua." Sorry, but "Debería..." is "You should..." http://www.spanishdict.com/examples/deber%C3%ADa
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As per my other replies, I think you're over-simplifying things a bit. "would have to" is both the conditional form of "have to" and "must".
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To be polite. The conditional tense can be used as a milder way of telling someone to do something.
"Usted debería beber más agua" = You should drink more water (but I'm not going to force you; it was just a suggestion)
"Usted debe beber más agua" = You have to drink more water (not a suggestion)
You can also use the conditional to be polite when asking for directions.
"Podría decirme..." = Could you tell me...
Also, conditional in Spanish is used for doubt, hesitation, possibility.
You "ought to/ should go" is not the same as "you must/ have to/ need.
In English, we also use this hesitation, doubt, possibility concept to be polite.
for English modals, "may, could, might," use the conditional. (I believe, see https://es.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ingl%C3%A9s/Gram%C3%A1tica/Verbos_modales
One also uses subjunctive to express doubt etc., but not, I think, for those modals I just mentioned.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, please.
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This site says different http://www.spanishdict.com/topics/show/98
Their using the imp. Subjunctive. For polite requests
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Take another look at that the Imperfect Subjunctive
"can be used to make very polite requests." So that is not the only way to make polite requests, the conditional verbs are also used for "polite requests".
https://www.realfastspanish.com/grammar/the-spanish-conditional-tense-5-uses
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A duck isn't a drake, but a drake is most certainly a male duck. You are right that they are not synonymous.
I don't quite agree. They have differing conoration, one if need and the other of requirement.
I once passed outvst work. When I came to l was required to take an ambulence to the nearby medical facility even though I could easily have walk. I said I didn't need to take an an ambulance. They responded that I must take it whether I need it or not.
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No, "debe" is not "would need", that means "must"
"Deberïa" is "should"
"You would need to drink more water" is "Necesitaría beber más agua."
"You would have to drink more water." is "Tendría que beber más agua."
https://dictionary.reverso.net/english-spanish/to%20need
http://conjugator.reverso.net/conjugation-spanish-verb-necesitar.html
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Okay I need a break from this stuff. Here is an educational & fun learning video for spanish. Take a break and enjoy.
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That video no longer works because the Youtube account associated with that video has been terminated.
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"Would have to" = "tendría que"
"Debería" = "should"
Strange, huh?
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Not all the meanings of "must" can be replaced with "have to" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/must
