Three important modal verbs in English are “should,” “could” and “would.” In general, modal verbs, also called “helping verbs,” convey information about the verb that follows. The focus in this blog will be the English modal verb “should,” although the general rules for all English modal verbs are the same.
Let’s first answer some general questions about modal verbs, and in particular how the modal verb “should” is used in English, before comparing “should” to its Italian counterpart.
Why is “should” considered a modal verb?
The English verb “should” is a modal verb because it has only one form and also because it functions to modify a main verb by providing additional information. A modal verb is placed directly before the main verb to “modify” it. This role also leads to the informal name of “helping verb,” as the information provided by a modal verb is not found in the main verb. Different modal verbs are used in order to describe possibility, ability, permission, or necessity.
The modal verb “should” is used when one wants to describe an occurrence that has a high probability of happening. In other words, something that is likely to happen but is not 100% certain to occur, or something that one believes is likely to be true.
On the other hand, if one is truly certain something will take place, this will be relayed in English with the modal verbs “will” or “must.” Of course, all English speakers will immediately recognize that “will” is the modal verb to used to talk about a future occurrence!
What concepts are relayed with “should”?
As noted above, a statement modified with “should” describes an event that probably will happen but at the same time conveys a bit of uncertainty.
“I should finish my studies at college this May; I only have one more course to take.”
2. “Should” can also be used to ask for or to give advice. For instance:
“What should I do? Move to Rome or stay in my the small town I grew up in?”
“I think (my advice is) you should go to Rome; there are more jobs there.”
3. When talking about the past, “should” modifies “have” to describe regret for a lost opportunity to improve something in the past.
“I should have spoken to Maria, who has lived in Rome for 10 years, before I rented an apartment there.”
The verb “should” modifies the verb that follows.
For a probable, but not certain occurrence,
to give advice, or to express regret about the past,
simply say “should” in English.
How do you use “should” in a sentence?
To use “should” to talk about something in the present, simply put “should” before a main verb in its “bare infinitive” form (without using “to” before the main verb). That’s it! No conjugation required!
From the examples above:
“I should finish my studies…”
“What should I do?”
“You should go to Rome…”
To use “should” to express regret for a lost opportunity in the past, the sentence structure is different. The formula is included here for completeness, but how to express “should” in the past will not be discussed further in this blog. To talk about the past, use the formula [should + have + past participle].
“I should have gone to Rome sooner.”
The Italian Modal Mood “Dovere” Conditional Tense
How do I use the Italian verb “dovere” to say “should”?
Like the English verb “should,” dovere is considered a helping verb, because it modifies the verb that follows to give additional information.
It is important to learn how to use dovere to say “should”
to communicate information effectively in Italian!
If one is truly certain something will take place, then dovere can be conjugated into the Italian future tense to correlate with the English “will.”Dovere can also be conjugated into the Italian present tense to convey the meanings of “must” or “to have to,” as we’ve seen in a previous blog. If you need a general refresher on how to conjugate doverein the present tense and the utility of the Italian verb doverewhile traveling, please refer to a previous blog in this series, “How to Use the Verb ‘Dovere.'”
In the same way as the English modal verb should, dovere conjugated in the conditional tense is used to describe an occurrence that has a high probability of happening. In other words, something that is likely to happen but is not 100% certain to occur, or something that one believes is likely to be true.
What ideas does dovere in the conditional tense convey?
Italians use dovere conjugated in the conditional tense to relay all the English ideas described in the previous section: (1) to describe that something probably will happen and at the same time convey a bit of uncertainty, (2) to ask for or give advice, and (3) in the past tense to describe regret or to suggest an opportunity was lost to improve something in the past.
For a probable, but not certain occurrence,
to give advice, or to express regret about the past,
simply say “should” in English.
In Italian, conjugate the verb dovere in the conditional tense.
How do you use dovere in a sentence?
To use dovere in a sentence to convey the ideas behind “should,” dovere must be conjugated into the conditional tense. In technical terms, this is called the “Italian modal mood.” After dovere is conjugated in the conditional tense, it is placed directly before a main verb in the infinitive, similar to English.
Notice from the examples below that the subject pronouns “io” and “tu” are in parentheses, as subject pronouns are normally omitted in conversational Italian.
Examples from the last section, with their Italian counterparts:
“I should finish my studies…” “(Io) Dovrei finire i miei studi…”
“Whatshould I do?” “Che dovrei fare?
“You should go to Rome…” “(Tu) dovresti andare a Roma.”
To use dovere in a sentence to express regret for a lost opportunity to improve something in the past, the sentence structure is different. The formula is included here for completeness, but the expressing “should” in the past with dovere will not be discussed further in this blog.
To talk about the past in the Italian modal mood with dovere,use the formula [avere conditional + dovere past participle +infinitive verb] or [essere conditional + dovere past participle + infinitive verb]. The choice of avere or essere will depend on the infinitive verb being modified. Also, when essere is used, the ending of the past participle dovuto must reflect the gender and number of the speaker.
In the two examples below from the previous section, the first sentence takes avere and the second takes essere.
What should I have done? Che avrei dovuto fare?
“I should have gone to Rome sooner.” Sarei dovuto(a) andare a Roma prima.
The Italian Conditional Tense “Dovere”
The preceding sections discussed why dovere must be conjugated in the conditional tense to convey the same meaning as the English modal verb “should.” The full method to conjugate the Italian conditional tense is given below and the conjugation of dovere follows. It should be noted that the verb endings for the conditional tense are always regular and are the same for all three Italian groups of infinitive verbs ( –are, -ere, -ire infinitive verbs).
How to Conjugate the Italian Conditional Tense
To change any infinitive verb into the conditional tense, first drop the final -e to create stems that end in the letterr.
For all -areverbs, the letter a that remains in the –ar ending of the stem must then be changed to ane.
This leaves stems with endings as follows for the three conjugations of -are, -ere, and –ire verbs: -er, -er, and-ir.
Then, add the following endings below to the stems for all three conjugations:
Conditional Tense Endings
io
ei
tu
esti
Lei/lei/lui
ebbe
noi
emmo
voi
este
loro
ebbero
“Dovere” Conditional Tense
The conjugation of doverein the conditional tense given in the table below. The irregular stem is dovr, although the endings are regular. Once again, notice that the English modal verb “should” is not conjugated.
When pronouncing an Italian conditional verb, the stress will always be on the syllable that begins with the letter r, and will always start with “re.”The stressed syllable is underlined below in the table for dovere:
English Modal Verb Should
Dovere Conditional Tense
I should
io
dovrei
You familiar should
tu
dovresti
You polite, he/she/it should
Lei/lei/lui
dovrebbe
we should
noi
dovremmo
you all should
voi
dovreste
they should
loro
dovrebbero
Every Day Italian Phrases with “Should” and “Dovere”
There are, of course, many circumstances in which something “should” happen or someone “should” do something. A few phrases one might hear in daily conversation are given below that focus on the verbs cominciare/finire (to start/to end), fare (to do/ to make), and verbs of leaving and returning: andare, uscire and rientrare, tornare, arrivare (to go /to go out /to come back home/to return/to arrive).
Two important uses for the third person of dovere in the conditional tense are with essere and avere:“should be” is “dovrebbe essere” and “should have” is “dovrebbe avere.” Of course, the third person singular also refers to what “polite you,” “he” and “she” should be” or “should have.”
Also, you will notice that in some examples, Italian uses the present tense for the immediate future, while the English translation uses the future tense with the modal verb “will.” Both English and Italian agree in use of the future tense when the adverb surely(sicuramente) is used. If you are certain of a future event, use the future tense!
In the first scenario, let’s pretend a couple is getting ready to go out to the movies for the evening. Look for the conditional tense of dovere in the second and third person singular and first person plural.
A che ora comincia il film stasera? What time does the film start tonight?
Dovrebbe cominciare alle otto di sera. Devo controllare il sito web. It should start at 8 PM. I have to check the website.
A che ora vuoi uscire di casa per arrivare alle otto? What time do you want to leave the house to get there at 8?
Dovremmo uscire di casa alle sette. We should leave the house at 7.
Ma, no, alle sette è troppo presto. Il teatro non è lontano. Dovremmo uscire alle sette e mezzo. But, no, 7 is too early. The movie theater is not far away. We should leave at 7:30.
Va bene. Ma dovresti prepararti subito o sicuramente, saremo in ritardo! OK. But you should get ready quickly or we will be late for sure!
Si. Voglio anche sapere quando il film finisce. Voglio rientrare a case e andare a letto subito dopo. Yes. Also, I want to know when the film (will) finish. I want to come back home and go to bed right after.
Non preoccuparti! Dovrebbe finire alle nove. Rientriamo subito dopo.
Don’t worry! It should finish 9. We at will return home right after.
In the second scenario, one friend asks another whether he should start a new life in Rome. Look for the conditional tense of dovere in the first and second person singular. The third person singular “doverebbe essere” is used here too, to say, “should be” and “dovrebbe avere” to say, “should have.”
Remember the rule for helping verbs with a reflexive verb; the reflexive pronoun can come before the verbs or be attached to the end of the infinitive verb, as with dovrei trasferirmi.
Also remember that “andare a trovare qualcuno” means “to go to visit someone” and visitare is used when visiting a place. To “go around” or “look around” a town in order to “check it out” use girare.
Finally, notice that, although also is often used at the beginning of a sentence in English, the Italian anche cannot be placed at the beginning of a sentence. Instead, anche is used after the verb. With the addition of a helping verb, anche goes or between the helping verb and the main verb that follows.
Che dovrei fare? Non conosco Roma. Ma dovrei trasferirmi a Roma per lavoro. Dammi un buon cosiglio. “What should I do?” I’m not familiar with Rome. But I should transfer to Rome for work. Give me some good advice.
(Tu) dovresti andare a Roma e andare a trovare tua cugina Maria. You should go to Rome and visit your cousin Maria.
Resta con Maria a Roma una settimana o due. Dopo questo periodo, capirai se Roma ti piace o no. Stay with Maria in Rome one week or two. After this time, you (will) know if you like Rome or not.
Una buona idea. Dovrei girare Roma prima di transferirmi. A good idea. I should go around Rome before transferring there.
Maria dovrebbe anche avere tante cose buone da dirmi su Roma. Also, Maria should have many good things to tell me about Rome.
Si, dopo aver abitato a Roma per venti anni, Maria dovrebbe essere in grado di aiutarti. Yes, after having lived in Rome for 20 years, Maria should be able to help you.
How many more phrases can you think of? What should you be doing today, tomorrow, next year? Where should you be going — for work, vacation, or maybe to visit a friend or family member?
Add details from your own personal life to phrases that usedovere, and build a personal vocabulary that youshould use every day!
For “All the Italian you need to enjoy your trip to Italy,” click on the links below to purchase my Conversational Italian for Travelers books – and then listen to the audiobook “Just the Important Phrases” on your favorite streaming platform! —Kathryn Occhipinti
Award-winning book “Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases”
Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” pocket travel book with audio on your favorite streaming platform from Amazon.com and www.learntravelitalian.com
New! Practice short phrases in Italian in this Audio Dialogue Practice Book. Download the audio from your favorite audio platform today! Check it out for free on Amazon.com
Dr. Kathryn Occhipinti is a radiologist who has been leading Italian language groups in the Peoria and Chicago areas for more than 10 years. She is the author of the “Conversational Italian for Travelers” series of books to teach adults Italian with the vocabulary they need to travel to Italy. She is very active on social media promoting Italian language and culture through her Facebook group Conversational Italian! as well on Twitter @travelitalian1. Links to audio for her Italian language dialogues and her blogs for beginning and intermediate Italian can be found at www.learntravelitalian.com.
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