Italian modal verbs in the past: ho dovuto, dovevo, potevo

Dovere (must, to have to), potere (can, to be able to) and volere (to want) are modal verbs: they are followed directly by an infinitive, with no preposition, and add obligation, possibility or intention to it. In the past they form their tenses like other verbs, with one twist: the choice between the passato prossimo and the imperfetto changes what the sentence tells you about the outcome.

«Ho dovuto lavorare sabato» means you had to work, and you did. «Dovevo lavorare sabato» means you were supposed to, and does not say whether it happened. The second question is the auxiliary: in the passato prossimo a modal can take avere or essere, depending on the infinitive that follows it.

Passato prossimo: the action really happened

The passato prossimo of a modal presents one completed situation, and it implies that the action of the infinitive took place. «Ieri ho dovuto chiamare il medico» “Yesterday I had to call the doctor”, and you did. «Finalmente ho potuto parlare con il direttore» “I finally managed to speak to the manager.” «Ha voluto pagare lui» “He insisted on paying”, and he paid.

In the negative, the passato prossimo says that the action did not happen: «Non ho potuto venire» “I couldn’t come”, so you stayed away; «Non ha voluto mangiare» “He refused to eat.” It goes naturally with expressions that point to a single occasion, such as «ieri», «quel giorno», «una volta», «alla fine» and «finalmente».

• Il treno era in ritardo e ho dovuto prendere un taxi. · The train was late and I had to take a taxi.
• Purtroppo non abbiamo potuto visitare il museo: era chiuso. · Unfortunately we couldn’t visit the museum: it was closed.

Imperfetto: habits, background and plans that changed

The imperfetto describes an obligation, ability or wish as a situation, without saying whether the action was carried out. It is the tense for repeated duties and past abilities: «Quando lavoravo in albergo, dovevo parlare tre lingue», «Da studente potevo dormire fino a tardi».

It is also the tense of plans and intentions that did not work out: «Dovevo partire ieri, ma c’era uno sciopero» “I was supposed to leave yesterday, but there was a strike”, «Volevo comprare il biglietto, ma era esaurito». In conversation, «volevo» also softens a request: «Volevo chiederti un favore» “I wanted to ask you a favour.”

In everyday speech, «potevo», «potevi» and the other forms can also mean “could have”, for a chance that was missed: «Potevi dirmelo!» “You could have told me!”. The more formal equivalent is the past conditional: «Avresti potuto dirmelo».

• Dovevamo vederci alle otto, ma Giulia ha avuto un imprevisto. · We were supposed to meet at eight, but something came up for Giulia.

Avere or essere? The infinitive decides

In the passato prossimo, the traditional rule is that the modal takes the auxiliary of the verb that follows it. If the infinitive takes avere, so does the modal: «ho dovuto lavorare», «abbiamo potuto finire». If the infinitive takes essere, the modal takes essere too, and the participle agrees with the subject: «sono dovuto partire», «Marta è potuta venire», «i ragazzi sono voluti restare».

In everyday Italian, avere is also widely used with infinitives that take essere («ho dovuto partire», «Marta ha potuto venire»), and this is accepted as correct. When the infinitive is essere itself, the modal takes avere: «Ho dovuto essere paziente». A modal used without an infinitive also takes avere: «Non sono venuto perché non ho potuto».

Pronouns and reflexive verbs with past modals

Object pronouns can go before the modal or attach to the infinitive, as in the present: «Non l’ho potuto fare» or «Non ho potuto farlo». With reflexive verbs, the position of the pronoun also decides the auxiliary. If the reflexive pronoun comes before the modal, use essere: «Mi sono dovuto alzare alle cinque». If it is attached to the infinitive, use avere: «Ho dovuto alzarmi alle cinque». Both mean the same.

Do not confuse these forms with the past conditional, «avrei dovuto», «avrei potuto», «avrei voluto», which expresses something that should, could or would have happened but did not: «Avrei dovuto studiare di più» “I should have studied more.”

• Si è dovuta trasferire a Milano per lavoro. · She had to move to Milan for work.
• Ho voluto vederlo con i miei occhi. · I wanted to see it with my own eyes.