Word
Dovresti restare calmo quando guidi la macchina.
Meaning
You should stay calm when you drive the car.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Dovresti restare calmo quando guidi la macchina.
la macchina
car
quando
when
restare
to stay, to remain
dovere
must
Questions & Answers about Dovresti restare calmo quando guidi la macchina.
Why does dovresti mean "you should" if the verb dovere usually means "must"?
Dovere does mean "must" or "to have to" in the regular present tense. But when you put it in the present conditional tense, like dovresti, it softens the meaning to "you should" or "you ought to." It is the perfect way to give advice rather than a strict command.
Why is restare in its infinitive (dictionary) form here?
Because it follows dovresti, which is a modal verb. Just like in English where we say "should stay" and not "should stays", Italian uses the conjugated helper verb (dovresti) followed immediately by the infinitive of the action verb (restare).
If I am saying this to a female friend, does calmo change?