61.2 Expressing disapproval
61.2.1 Set phrases
(Eso) no está bien. That’s not right.
¡(Eso) está (muy) mal! That’s (very) bad!
Deja mucho que desear. It leaves much to be desired.61.2.2 (No) debería+ infinitive
To say things like ‘You should (not) do this or that’, use this construction with a
conditional form of deber, e.g. debería (pol.), deberías (fam.), ‘you should’, followed
by an infinitive.Eso no está bien. Debería usted hacerlo de nuevo.
That’s not right. You should do it again.No deberías beber tanto.
You shouldn’t drink so much.No deberías salir con esta lluvia.
You shouldn’t go out in this rain.21.2 (p. 100); 17.7 (p. 77)
61.2.3 (No) debería+haber+ past participle
To say things like ‘You should (not) have done this or that’, use this construction with a
conditional form of deber, followed by haber and a past participle. 16.1.1.7 (p. 62)
Usted debería haber llegado más temprano.
You should have arrived earlier.No deberías haber dicho eso.
You shouldn’t have said that.Ustedes no deberían haber aceptado.
You shouldn’t have accepted.Note that in speech debería is sometimes replaced by the imperfect, debía.No debías habérselo dicho.
You shouldn’t have told him/her.61.3 Enquiring about approval or disapproval
To enquire about approval or disapproval, use expressions like the following:¿Está bien esto?
Is this all right?Enquiring about approval or disapproval 61.3