Breakdown of Deves decifrar o enigma agora.
agora
now
o
him/it (m)
dever
should / ought to
decifrar
to decipher
Questions & Answers about Deves decifrar o enigma agora.
Since this lesson is about pronoun placement with two verbs, how would I replace o enigma with "it" in this sentence?
You have two valid options when using an auxiliary verb (deves) plus an infinitive (decifrar). You can attach the pronoun to the first verb: deves-o decifrar. Alternatively, you can attach it to the infinitive. When doing this, drop the final -r of the infinitive, add an acute accent to maintain the vowel sound, and use the -lo form of the pronoun: deves decifrá-lo.
If I change the sentence to a negative ("You must not decipher it now"), where does the pronoun go?
Does the verb dever mean "must" or "should" here?
In the present tense, dever can express either obligation ("must") or strong expectation/advice ("ought to"). Context usually tells you which one it is. If you want to clearly express advice ("should"), it is better to use the conditional tense instead: deverias decifrar.
Can I use ter de instead of dever to say "must" in this sentence?