I should like the topic, right?

I should like the topic, right?
 

I don't understand this construction: Me debe gustar el tema, ¿no?

I thought it would be something like: debo (I should) me gusta (it pleases me) el tema (the topic).... but I was told that is incorrect. Can someone help?

Thanks in advance.

Ricardo

Me debería/debiera gustar el tema.

I still don't understand. is debería/debiera a first person or third person conjugation and why? I thought it should be first person, since I am the one that should be doing something.

Please note that the verb gustar has a particular construction, in which "the person" is not the subject, but the indirect object, and "the thing" is the subject.

There are many other threads about this verb, but you might find useful this one, this one and this one. :)

I guess my main confusion is with the conjugation of the verb deber.

Deber as I understand is to be interpreted as "ought to" or "should" or "owe" therefore debo = I should.....

Ricardo

Yes, "debo" = I should. But "I" is not the grammatical subject of the Spanish sentence.

In the Spanish sentence "Me debe gustar el tema", the subject is "el tema", which is third-person singular. The choice of subject is mandated by the main verb "gustar". A translation of this sentence that better preserves its grammatical structure is "The topic/theme should/ought to please me."

The core sentence is "me gusta el tema". "El tema" is the subject, and "me" is the "indirect" object. The subject is third-person singular, which determines the person/number of the conjugation.

Adding some form of "deber" to a sentence in order to add the sense of "should/ought to" does not affect what the subject, objects and adverbs of the sentence are: they remain the same.

Como lo entiendo, nosotros no usamos debo = should/ought, as they translate as debería/debiera.


Así que me debe gustar? = So, I must like it?

Asi que me tiene que gustar = So, I have to like it?