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Yo nunca usaría tus cosas sin preguntar. Deberías respetar mi privacidad.

Yo nunca usaría tus cosas sin preguntar. Deberías respetar mi privacidad.
I would never use your things without asking. You should respect my privacy.
From Lesson 179:Polite advice (deberías...)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Yo nunca usaría tus cosas sin preguntar. Deberías respetar mi privacidad.

Why is deberías used here instead of debes?
Using the conditional form deberías (you should) softens the statement and turns it into advice or a polite request. If you used the present tense debes (you must), it would sound much harsher and more demanding.
Why is usaría in the conditional tense?
The conditional tense is used here to describe a hypothetical situation. By saying usaría (I would use), the speaker is establishing what they would do in a theoretical scenario to highlight the unfairness of the other person's actual behavior.
Why is it sin preguntar instead of using the -ando form like in English (without asking)?
In Spanish, whenever a verb directly follows a preposition like sin (without), para (for/in order to), or de (of/from), it must stay in its infinitive form. You should never use the -ando or -iendo forms (the gerund) after a preposition.
Can I drop the Yo at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes, you can drop it! The context combined with the verb usually makes it clear who is speaking. However, keeping Yo here adds strong emphasis to the contrast between what 'I' would do versus what 'you' are doing.

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