Yap.Town

lui dovesse

had to, should, were to

→ dovere
dov must; owe + esse Imperfect subjunctive, 3rd person singular
auxiliary · 3rd-person singular, imperfect tense Uncommon #16,793
had to, should Often used after a verb of thinking or saying to express what someone thought was necessary.
IT: Pensavo che dovesse partire presto.
EN: I thought he had to leave early.
should, were to In a hypothetical condition, as in “if it should happen.”
IT: Se dovesse piovere, resteremmo a casa.
EN: If it should rain, we would stay home.
Conjugation of dovere
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
First — dovessimo
Third dovesse dovessero
dovessi

Immagino che non dovesse andare così.

I guess it wasn't supposed to be this way.

— Return to Silent Hill (2026)

Pensavo che Tom dovesse essere qui per tre settimane.

I thought Tom was supposed to be here for three weeks.

Se ti dovesse infastidire, dimmelo.

If it bothers you, tell me.

— Two Sisters (2003)

Penso che dovesse esserci una ragione per cui ha dovuto abbandonarmi.

I think there must have been a reason why he had to abandon me.

— Le buone stelle - Broker (2022)

Se si dovesse presentare con un'offerta ragionevole, le darei il mio consenso.

If he were to come forward with a reasonable offer, I would give him my consent.

A Guilder la pagheranno cara, se lei dovesse morire.

Guilder will pay dearly if she dies.

— La storia fantastica (1987)

Se un incendio dovesse scoppiare nel suo quartiere, cosa farebbe?

If a fire were to break out in your neighborhood, what would you do?

Io ho preso un ombrello nel caso in cui dovesse piovere.

I took an umbrella in case it rains.

Se la temperatura dovesse continuare a salire, chiamatemi subito.

If the temperature continues to rise, call me immediately.

— Il nastro bianco (2009)

Io pensavo che Boston dovesse essere fredda.

I thought Boston was supposed to be cold.

Pensavo dovesse essere a scuola ora.

I thought he was supposed to be at school now.

Non sapevo se Tom dovesse farlo o meno.

I didn’t know whether Tom was supposed to do it or not.

Come se a volte ci si dovesse piegare per continuare a vivere.

As if sometimes we had to bend over backwards to keep living.

— Il cielo sopra Berlino (1987)

Mary pensava che dovesse aiutare Tom.

Mary thought she had to help Tom.

Se non dovesse funzionare, potrai sempre tornare.

If it doesn't work, you can always come back.

— Kiki - Consegne a domicilio (1989)

Sarò nel mio ufficio, se qualcuno dovesse avere dei problemi.

I'll be in my office if anyone has any problems.

— Indiana Jones e l'ultima crociata (1989)

Tom pensò che dovesse farlo.

Tom thought he had to.

Ho preso un ombrello nel caso in cui dovesse piovere.

I took an umbrella in case it rained.