The Iceberg Project Italian

The Iceberg Project was created from a desire to travel to Italy & speak the language with ease, comfort and confidence. Now, you'll find addictive language & culture lessons for students eager to become conversational in Italian.

  • New here?
  • Shop
  • Learn
    • Grammar
    • Vocabulary
    • Expressions
    • Culture
  • Podcast
  • Meet the Team
    • About Cher
    • Contact
    • Media
  • Free Lessons

How to Say “Supposed to” in Italian

July 6, 2016 By Cher 9 Comments

How to Say "Supposed to" in Italian

Have you ever wondered how to say “supposed to” in Italian?

Like “She was supposed to go to the store to buy torrone, but she forgot” or “He was supposed to meet me at 5, but I guess he’s on Italian time”.

When you want to express that something was supposed to happen, but didn’t for whatever reason, you use the verb “dovere – must, have to” in the imperfect tense.

If you’re still starting out and you’re not sure what the heck I’m talking about when I say the imperfect tense, it’s the one you use when you want to talk about things in the past, like weather, descriptions or routines.

Now, to help you get an idea of how to use this in real life, here are some examples:

— Non dovevo lavorare oggi, però Giulia si è sentita male. – I wasn’t supposed to work today, but Giulia was sick.

— Dovevamo incontrarci alle 5, ma lui è in ritardo…come sempre. – We were supposed to meet each other at 5, but he’s late…like always.

— Doveva andare al supermercato per comprare del torrone, ma ha dimenticato. – She was supposed to go to the store to buy some torrone, but she forgot.

— Perché lei è qua? Non dovevi invitarla! – Why is she here? You weren’t supposed to invite her!

Of course, you can also use “dovere” in the imperfect tense to mean “should have” or “must have”, like in the examples below.

— Non doveva farlo. – He shouldn’t have done it.

— Ah, mi ricordo cosa dovevo dirti! – Ah, I remember what I had to tell you.

Have questions? Leave a comment below!

Filed Under: Expressions, Grammar, Intermediate Italian, Italian Tagged With: b1 level, italian grammar, Italian phrases

Avatar

About Cher

Cher is the founder of The Iceberg Project and a passionate learner of the Italian, Mandarin and Spanish languages. In a little town called Vegas, you can find her searching the Internet for Doctor Who and Parks & Rec memes, drinking bubble tea, or talking about how much she loves grammar.

« Italian Word Speed Dates: Infatti & Cioè
How to Give Compliments in Italian »

Looking for Something?

UPCOMING TRIP TO ITALY?

SAY CIAO

MOST LOVED LESSONS

© 2021 · Powered by Genesis Framework & Love for Italy · Design by: Bellano Web Studio