Devo prendere il farmaco dopo cena.

I have to take the medicine after dinner.

Breakdown of Devo prendere il farmaco dopo cena.

• io: I
• prendere: to take
• dopo: after
• la cena: the dinner

Questions & Answers about Devo prendere il farmaco dopo cena.

What exactly does the word in bold mean: devo?

It’s the 1st person singular present of dovere and means “I must,” “I have to,” or “I need to” (obligation/necessity, often from an instruction like a doctor’s order). A rarer, more formal variant is debbo (“I must”), but you’ll mostly hear devo.

Why is the present tense used if the action happens after dinner (i.e., in the future)?

Italian commonly uses the present to talk about near-future plans or scheduled obligations: Devo prendere… dopo cena is perfectly natural. You can use the future Dovrò prendere… to emphasize futurity or a plan you’re projecting forward, but it isn’t required here.

How do I conjugate dovere in the present?

• io devo
• tu devi
• lui/lei deve
• noi dobbiamo
• voi dovete
• loro devono

What’s the difference between devo and dovrei?

• devo = a strong obligation/requirement (“I must/I have to”).
• dovrei = conditional, softer advice/recommendation (“I should/ought to”). Example: Devo prenderlo (doctor’s order) vs Dovrei prenderlo (it’s advisable).