🇮🇹 Italian · B1 · Health & Wellbeing

Taking care of yourself

7 min read · dovere + infinito per consigli · Dovresti bere più acqua · Non dovresti saltare i pasti

Vocabulary

esercizioexercise
dietadiet
sonnosleep
stressstress
salute mentalemental health
equilibratobalanced
routineroutine
idratazionehydration
relaxrelaxation
benesserewellbeing
meditazionemeditation
respirazionebreathing
abitudinehabit
energiaenergy

Dovere + infinitive for giving advice

In Italian, to give advice or make recommendations, you use dovere in the conditional tense + the infinitive. This form is more polite than the imperative.

Structure

Dovresti + infinitive → You should...
Non dovresti + infinitive → You shouldn't...

Examples

Dovresti bere più acqua → You should drink more water
Non dovresti saltare i pasti → You shouldn't skip meals
Dovresti dormire almeno otto ore → You should sleep at least eight hours
Non dovresti stare troppo seduto → You shouldn't sit still for too long
Dovresti fare una passeggiata ogni giorno → You should go for a walk every day

Other useful forms

Dovrebbe → He/She should (also polite form)
Dovremmo → We should
Dovreste → You (plural) should

This form is widely used for friendly advice, or in a medical context.

Expressions

Dovresti bere più acquaAdvising someone to stay hydrated
Non dovresti saltare i pastiAdvising against skipping meals
Cerca di rilassartiEncouraging someone to relax
Fare una vita sanaLiving a healthy lifestyle
Tenersi in formaStaying in good physical shape
Prendersi cura di séTaking care of oneself
Bisogna dormire almeno otto oreTo give advice about sleep
Evitare lo stress è fondamentaleTo emphasize the importance of managing stress

Common mistakes

~~Devi bere più acqua~~
Dovresti bere più acqua
'Devi' (present) sounds like an order. 'Dovresti' (conditional) is more polite for advice
~~Dovresti a fare sport~~
Dovresti fare sport
After dovere, the infinitive follows directly, with no preposition
~~Non dovresti saltare dei pasti~~
Non dovresti saltare i pasti
'I pasti' (meals in general) takes the definite article, not the partitive
~~Dovresti fare la vita sana~~
Dovresti fare una vita sana
The expression 'fare una vita sana' uses the indefinite article
~~Devi rilassarti di più~~
Dovresti rilassarti di più
For advice, use the conditional dovresti, not the imperative devi
~~Cerca a fare esercizio~~
Cerca di fare esercizio
Cercare uses the preposition di before an infinitive, not a

Quick quiz

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How do you say “balanced” in Italian?

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