Using Preterite for Habit

The imperfect tense ('debíamos') is perfect for talking about obligations that were habitual or ongoing in the past, like duties you had every day or every week.

Imperfect Tense for Habit

In Spanish, 'debíamos' can mean both 'we had to' (a strong obligation) and 'we should' (a recommendation or duty). Context helps you tell the difference.

Obligation vs. Should Have

If you want to express probability (like 'We must have arrived late'), it's often clearer to say 'Debimos de llegar tarde' (using the preterite, not imperfect, for a single past event).

Adding 'De'

Extremely common. Used daily to talk about past obligations or duties.

When talking about debt, the imperfect ('debíamos') describes a continuous state in the past—the fact that we had an outstanding debt for a period of time.

Imperfect for State of Being

Common when discussing past financial transactions or debts.

Learn the meaning of the Spanish verb form 'debíamos' (nosotros imperfect indicative of deber), translating to 'we should have' or 'we owed.' Includes full conjugation and usage tips.

debíamos

Complete Conjugation Tables

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

future

conditional

imperfect

present

preterite

subjunctive

imperfect

present

imperative

negative

affirmative

Practice Conjugations