Dovere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

dovere — to have to — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the modal verb of obligation and necessity, always followed by an infinitive. It also expresses probability when it is used on its own, and its present and future forms are irregular. On this page you will find dovere in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the dovere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the dovere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with dovere

In the present tense

  • “Io devo presto ogni giorno.” — “I have to leave early”
  • “Tu devi presto ogni giorno.” — “You have to leave early”
  • “Lui deve presto ogni giorno.” — “He has to leave early”
  • “Noi dobbiamo presto ogni giorno.” — “We have to leave early”
  • “Voi dovete presto ogni giorno.” — “You have to leave early”
  • “Loro devono presto ogni giorno.” — “They have to leave early”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho dovuto presto questa settimana.” — “I have had to leave early”
  • “Tu hai dovuto presto questa settimana.” — “You have had to leave early”
  • “Lui ha dovuto presto questa settimana.” — “He has had to leave early”
  • “Noi abbiamo dovuto presto questa settimana.” — “We have had to leave early”
  • “Voi avete dovuto presto questa settimana.” — “You have had to leave early”
  • “Loro hanno dovuto presto questa settimana.” — “They have had to leave early”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io dovevo presto una volta.” — “I used to have to leave early”
  • “Tu dovrai presto domani.” — “You will have to leave early”
  • “Lui dovrebbe presto un giorno.” — “He would have to leave early”
  • “È importante che noi dobbiamo presto.” — “It is important that we have to leave early”
  • “— presto!” — “Have to leave early!”

How dovere is used

The first thing to know about dovere is its core meaning: to have to. It is the modal verb of obligation and necessity, always followed by an infinitive. It also expresses probability when it is used on its own, and its present and future forms are irregular. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company dovere keeps. The present io form is devo, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho dovuto, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what dovere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need devo, never dovere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho dovuto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle dovuto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Dovere in context

Io devo presto ogni giorno. Tu devi presto ogni giorno. Lui deve presto ogni giorno. Noi dobbiamo presto ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of dovere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — devo, devi, deve, dobbiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to have to. Io ho dovuto presto questa settimana. Tu hai dovuto presto questa settimana. Lui ha dovuto presto questa settimana. Noi abbiamo dovuto presto questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of dovere appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to have to — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io dovere presto.”

✓ Right: “Io devo presto ogni giorno.”

The infinitive dovere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form devo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io devi presto.”

✓ Right: “Io devo presto ogni giorno.”

devi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is devo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io devo presto ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho dovuto presto questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho dovuto here, not the present devo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono dovuto presto.”

✓ Right: “Io ho dovuto presto questa settimana.”

dovere takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho dovuto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on dovere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of dovere in the Present indicative?

    • A) devo
    • B) devi
    • C) deve
    • D) dobbiamo

  2. What is the io form of dovere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai dovuto
    • B) ha dovuto
    • C) ho dovuto
    • D) abbiamo dovuto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of dovere in the Imperfect?

    • A) dovevo
    • B) dovevi
    • C) dovevamo
    • D) doveva

  4. What is the noi form of dovere in the Future?

    • A) dovremo
    • B) dovrò
    • C) dovrai
    • D) dovrà

  5. What is the tu form of dovere in the Conditional?

    • A) dovrei
    • B) dovresti
    • C) dovrebbe
    • D) dovremmo

  6. What is the io form of dovere in the Passato remoto?

    • A) dovesti
    • B) dovette
    • C) dovetti
    • D) dovemmo

  7. What is the noi form of dovere in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) debba
    • B) dobbiate
    • C) debbano
    • D) dobbiamo

  8. What is the gerund of dovere?

    • A) dovendo
    • B) dovuto
    • C) dovere
    • D) devo

  9. What is the past participle of dovere?

    • A) dovendo
    • B) dovuto
    • C) dovere
    • D) devo

  10. What does dovere mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to have to
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) devi — the correct form is devi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho dovuto — the correct form is ho dovuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) doveva — the correct form is doveva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) dovremo — the correct form is dovremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) dovresti — the correct form is dovresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) dovetti — the correct form is dovetti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) dobbiamo — the correct form is dobbiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) dovendo — the correct form is dovendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) dovuto — the correct form is dovuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to have to — the correct form is to have to. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does dovere mean in English?

dovere means “to have to”. You use it whenever you talk about to have to in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is dovere regular or irregular?

dovere is irregular. dovere is irregular in present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of dovere?

The gerund is dovendo and the past participle is dovuto. The perfect tenses use avere + dovuto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of dovere?

On the dovere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The dovere passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for dovere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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