Question 1

Why use the conditional deberías here instead of the present tense debes?

Accepted Answer

Using the conditional makes it a piece of advice ("you shouldn't") rather than a strict command or rule ("you must not"). It softens the tone, which is a very common way to give advice in Spanish.

Question 2

Why is conducir left in the infinitive form?

Accepted Answer

Because it directly follows another conjugated verb (deberías). In Spanish, when you use a helper verb like deber, the main action verb that follows it stays in its base dictionary form (the infinitive).

Question 3

Why do we use tan here instead of tanto?

Accepted Answer

You use tan (meaning "so") right before an adjective or an adverb, like rápido in this sentence. You would use tanto (meaning "so much" or "so many") with nouns or directly after a verb.

Question 4

Isn't rápido an adjective? Why don't we use rápidamente here?

Accepted Answer

You can definitely say rápidamente, but in everyday Spanish, it is very common to just use the adjective rápido as an adverb to mean "fast". You will hear this a lot with verbs of motion, like conducir (to drive) or correr (to run).

No deberías conducir tan rápido.

Breakdown of No deberías conducir tan rápido.

Questions & Answers about No deberías conducir tan rápido.

Learn No deberías conducir tan rápido and more in Spanish