Quanto dovevi bere?

It should be noted here that the English translation can mean 2 things: How much did you drink, and How much were you required to drink. An English speaker will be inclined to assume the first meaning, but the Italian sentence only applies itself to the second. To say the first, an Italian would have to say, “Quanto hai bevuto?”

4 Likes

Hey, i came across this sentence and was wondering about it. Is dovere actually used in this context? I thought it only meant “to have to” as in “must”. Are there any other examples of dovere being used this way? Does this only apply to drinking alcohol?

1 Like

I think we can safely assume that it’s a misunderstanding of the English sentence (“How much did you have to drink?”).

1 Like