01 · Something only you have to do
Tengo que estudiar para el examen.
I have to study for the exam.
Tener que is personal — this obligation is specifically yours.
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Tengo Que
Say what you must do, what the rule is, and what a friend should do — out loud.
Spanish splits obligation three ways. Tener que + infinitive is your obligation — tengo que estudiar, tenemos que hablar — and the que is mandatory: tengo que ir, never tengo ir. Hay que + infinitive is the rule that applies to everyone, and it never changes form: hay que respetar las normas. Deber is the softer should: debes descansar más. Same situation, three framings: tengo que llegar a las ocho (my must), hay que llegar a tiempo (the rule), debo llegar temprano (the should).
Below: each structure with the sentences it powers, how Mexico and Argentina soften them, the deber-vs-deber-de trap — and a way to practise saying what you have to do in a live conversation, no fill-in-the-blanks, no multiple choice.
The warm-up pack
Three ways to say you must — and how to pick the right one, out loud.
01 · Something only you have to do
Tengo que estudiar para el examen.
I have to study for the exam.
Tener que is personal — this obligation is specifically yours.
02 · Telling someone what they need to do
Tienes que llamar al médico.
You have to call the doctor.
Same structure, aimed at someone else — tienes, not tengo.
03 · The reassuring negative
No tienes que preocuparte.
You don't have to worry.
Negating tener que removes the obligation entirely — a genuinely comforting line to know.
04 · A rule that applies to everyone
Hay que respetar las normas.
One must respect the rules.
Hay que never conjugates — it's impersonal, aimed at nobody and everybody at once.
05 · A general household need
Hay que comprar más leche.
We need to buy more milk.
Not 'I have to' specifically — more like 'it needs doing', by whoever gets to it.
06 · Keeping the peace
No hay que gritar.
There's no need to shout.
Same impersonal hay que, now softening a moment instead of setting a rule.
07 · Admitting what you should do better
Debo ser más puntual.
I should be more punctual.
Deber is softer than tener que — this is a should, not a must.
08 · Advice for a friend
Debes descansar más.
You should rest more.
The line you'd actually say caring about someone, not commanding them.
09 · Someone else's should
Él debe disculparse.
He should apologize.
Deber works for other people too — a recommendation, never a demand.
10 · A personal must
Tengo que ir al dentista.
I have to go to the dentist.
This one's yours specifically — an appointment nobody else has to keep.
11 · The same idea, but for everyone
Hay que llevar mascarilla.
You have to wear a mask.
Say it right after the dentist line above and you can hear the difference: personal versus universal.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/tengo-queRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| you have to call the doctor | tienes que llamar al médico | tenés que llamar al médico |
| you should rest more | debes descansar más | tendrías que descansar más |
| you should go to the dentist | debes ir al dentista | deberías ir al dentista |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
There's nothing to fill in and no multiple choice in the Tengo Que lessons — you say your obligations out loud. Carla starts with today's real to-do list: three things you have to do, each with tengo que — tengo que trabajar, tengo que comprar… Then she asks about the rules where you work or study, and you switch to the form that never changes: hay que llegar temprano, hay que apagar el teléfono. Finally she has you give a friend one piece of advice with debes — debes dormir más — so all three framings come out of the same conversation, not a worksheet.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 4 lessons and Tengo Que is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
tener que is personal — I specifically must: tengo que estudiar para el examen. hay que is impersonal — the obligation applies to everyone: hay que practicar para mejorar. If you're stating a rule rather than your own task, reach for hay que.
Never — that's its whole appeal. It's always hay que: hay que tener paciencia, hay que comprar más leche. Trying to conjugate it for a person is the giveaway mistake — one form covers everyone.
Strength. tengo que trabajar is a concrete obligation you can't dodge; debes descansar más is advice or moral duty — a should, not a must. In Argentina you'll often hear it softened further into the conditional: tendrías que descansar más.
Probability, not obligation. Debe estudiar = he should study; debe de estar en casa = he's probably at home. That little de flips the meaning from duty to guess.
Negate tener que: no tienes que preocuparte — you don't have to worry. For the impersonal version: no hay que gritar — there's no need to shout.