No debo de haber nacido

Question

This phrase, "No debo haber nacido..." came up yesterday and there was some disagreement about whether it should be "no debo de haber nacido" or "no debo haber nacido".

I'm trying to wrap my little brain around this particular construction and could use some help. After we resolve the to de or not to de question, could someone help me with this next one:

To me, it seems like a word is missing...it looks like "I must not have born..." You say "no debo de haber comido" and it means " I must not have eaten", right? It doesn't mean "I must not have BEEN eaten"!

So, can you (or would you) say "No debo de haber estado nacido"?

I know I can count on all of you to set me straight. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

According to the RAE's Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas:

a) deber + infinitivo. Denota obligación: «Debo cumplir con mi misión» (Mendoza Satanás [Col. 2002]). Con este sentido, la norma culta rechaza hoy el uso de la preposición de ante el infinitivo: «Debería DE haber más sitios donde aparcar sin tener que pagar por ello» (Mundo [Esp.] 3.4.94).

b) deber de + infinitivo. Denota probabilidad o suposición: «No se oye nada de ruido en la casa. Los viejos deben DE haber salido» (Mañas Kronen [Esp. 1994]). No obstante, con este sentido, la lengua culta admite también el uso sin preposición: «Marianita, su hija, debe tener unos veinte años» (VLlosa Fiesta [Perú 2000]).

So,

• No debería haber nacido = I should not have been born.
• No debo de haber nacido cuando ...= No debo haber nacido cuando ... = I must not have been born when...

So, I concede my mistake that the "de" was required. However, "deber de" was a proper construction for that case.

Gracias, Gintar. But you are the one that explained it-- and my research has proven you right. What I have found, however, is that in this case, common usage and correct grammar are not always the same! - MLucie, Aug 17, 2011

Thank you for the interesting lesson, AND for understanding my question! :-) - MLucie, Aug 17, 2011

Answer 2

Okay, I didn't explain well. The question came from a discussion in the "la banda" word of the day thread about whether or not to use "de".

Academic sources, as gintar77 points out, insist that "deber" indicates obligation and "deber de" probability or guess, but in practice, very few people differentiate them, and I bet it is only a matter of time before they become identical, as it has happened in countless of languages before. In the meantime, that distinction is the most academically respected one.

As for my second question, I have noticed something interesting about the verb "nacer" which could explain it. You say, for example "comí" for "I ate". But you say "nací" for "I was born".

Yes, you do.

To see if I'm on the right track... Debería haber estudiado este libro. I should have studied this book.

Correct.

Now, how would you say "this book should have been studied"?

(I don't think I can say "este libro debería haber estado estudiado")

In any case, "sido estudiado", which is how you form passive sentences in Spanish, but in either case, it sounds odd. I don't think that is something you say in English very often anyway (but at least it can sound reasonably fine).

Gracias, Lazarus. I am honored to have you take an interest. I agree, it was a bad example sentence but I am happy to have your answer! - MLucie, Aug 17, 2011

Answer 3

It all depends on context:

"No debo haber nacido ...para esto": I must not have been born for this.

"No debo de haber nacido": I ought not have been born. This construction in fact sounds wrong, and I do not remember having encountered. The common expressions are : "No debería haber nacido" or "desearía no haber nacido" - "(I) should not have been born", or "I wish I had not been born".

Answer 4

Okay, I didn't explain well. The question came from a discussion in the "la banda" word of the day thread about whether or not to use "de". There were two different opinions, both from knowledgable sources.

As for my second question, I have noticed something interesting about the verb "nacer" which could explain it. You say, for example "comí" for "I ate". But you say "nací" for "I was born". That "was" is just built in! Right?

To see if I'm on the right track... Debería haber estudiado este libro. I should have studied this book.

Now, how would you say "this book should have been studied"?

(I don't think I can say "este libro debería haber estado estudiado")

Answer 5

Maybe, "I shouldn't have been born?"

Or possibly, I should never have been born? - katydew, Aug 17, 2011

The English translation was "I must not have been born..." - MLucie, Aug 17, 2011

What about a statement equal to "I wasn't cut out for this"? - katydew, Aug 17, 2011