“ты был должен был”
Does this phrase translate to “You should have had to” or “You must have had to.” Here is the complete sentence:
“А это значит, что ты был должен был учить (английский язык) я не знаю – в школе или в университете”
It’s my little mistake by the transkription.
Rick said:…что ты был должен…учить.
It’s possible, but it would be a bit better: что ты должен был…- that’s why I added the second “был” , but I forgot to eliminate the first one.
I’ll corect right away this type mistake - thank you!..
Спасибо…
Could “ты должен был” also be written as “вам надо был,” which I think translates to “you must have” or “you have to had?” Or does the former carry a softer tone when spoken or written, or is it simply not correct to use надо here? Thank you!
“ты должен был”= “вам надо было”
Both are correct and the same, but maybe the first is a bit stronger.