dovevate

Dovevate is the second-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb dovere, which means to have to or must. It expresses obligation, necessity, or expectation in the past, or a past habit of having to do something. In narrative, dovevate sets the background by describing what you all were supposed to do at a given time. For example, “I ragazzi dovevano tornare a casa prima delle otto” translates to “The kids were supposed to return home before eight.”

Usage notes: dovevate is used in past contexts to indicate ongoing or repeated obligation. The present form of the verb is dovete, and the imperfect form for other subjects is doveva (he/she), dovevamo (we), dovevano (they). The nuance of dovevate can imply an obligation that may or may not have been fulfilled. In negative contexts, non dovevate often means “you were not supposed to” or “you did not have to” depending on the situation, while non avete dovuto would be more literal for “you did not have to.” Examples include: “Dovevate finire il lavoro prima di uscire” and “Non dovevate preoccuparvi.”

Morphology: dovevate is formed from the irregular stem dovev- plus the imperfect second-person plural ending -ate, the same ending pattern as regular -are verbs in the imperfect. This irregularity is characteristic of dovere, which contributes the form dovevate in the passato remoto and other tenses as well.

See also: Italian verbs dovere, conjugation patterns of irregular verbs, and nuances of Italian past tenses.