Learn more about this word
Deve
Beyond obligation, dever in the third person expresses deduction, like English must be. Deve estar em casa means he must be at home, a guess rather than a rule. Adding de, deve de ser, makes the guessing sense explicit, though most speakers drop it.
Examples in context
Ele deve estar em casa agora.
He must be at home now.
Isto deve custar vinte euros.
This must cost twenty euros.
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