Debía

Debía is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb deber (él/ella/Ud. debía; yo/tú/él/ella/Ud. debía, etc.). The verb deber comes from Latin debēre and expresses obligation, duty, or necessity, but it can also signal probability or expectation depending on context. In the imperfect tense, debían of the plural forms is used for past actions or states.

Usage and meaning

Debía generally conveys something that was supposed to happen, was required, or was an obligation in the past. It can express a duty that existed over a period, a past obligation that may not have been fulfilled, or a past habitual expectation: “Yo debía terminar el informe ayer” (I was supposed to finish the report yesterday). “Cuando era niño, debía hacer la tarea cada día” (I used to have to do homework every day). It also appears with subordinate clauses to indicate that something was expected to occur: “Él decía que debía llamar cuando llegara.”

Debía de and deber vs. debería

In some varieties, the expression “debía de + infinitivo” is used to express conjecture or probability about a past event (though this use is less formal; the more standard past probability is “debió de haber + participio” or “debía haber + participio”). By contrast, “debería” is the conditional form meaning “should” or “would have to” in present or future contexts and does not denote past obligation.

Distinctions

Debía contrasts with tener que or haber de in nuance: tener que marks external obligation, while deber often carries a broader sense of duty or internal expectation. Debía can also function to describe habitual past behavior or lingering obligation.

Examples

- Yo debía estudiar para el examen. (I was supposed to study for the exam.)

- Él debía llamar cuando llegara. (He was supposed to call when he arrived.)

- Debía de haber llegado ya. (He must have arrived by now, in some dialects.)