Me llamo___________________________
Unidad 2-1 - Expressing Obligations
In life there are some things we all must do. For example, we must wear warm clothes in
cold weather, we must take out the garbage, and we must study for better grades.
In Spanish we express these kinds of OBLIGATIONS in two ways:
(conjugated) Tener + que + infinitive:
{person} has to {action}
TO say what you HAVE TO DO, use TENER, and INFINITIVE,and some “glue”
(conjugated) TENER
que
infinitive
To say what a specific person has to do, we use the construction “tener que + infinitive.”
We conjugate the verb TENER according to who is doing the obligation, and we leave
the infinitive alone. The “que” is the “glue” to the structure. It holds everything
together.
Examples:
Yo tengo que preparar la tarea.
I have to prepare the homework.
Tú tienes que esperar el autobús.
You have to wait for the bus.
Ella tiene que ayudar a su hermano.
She has to help her brother.
Nosotros tenemos que contestar las preguntas. We have to answer the questions
Ustedes tienen que escuchar a la maestra. You all have to listen to the teacher.
Ellos tienen que usar los libros.
They have to use the books.
Notice that, even though there are 2 verbs in each of the sentences above, only one –
TENER – gets conjugated. We leave the other verb as an infinitive because we really
need to keep that “to _____” meaning there in the sentence.
Hay + que + infinitive:
Hay
(one must {action})
que
infinitive
To say, in general what a person has to do, we use the construction “hay que + infinitive.”
We use “Hay que” when we mean to apply the obligation to people in general, and when
we are not being specific about who must do the things that must be done.
Examples:
Hay que estudiar.
One must study.
Hay que comer
One must eat.
Me llamo___________________________
Unidad 2-1 - Expressing Obligations
Práctica:
1. Nosotros _________________ que estudiar mucho.
2. Usted ____________ que enseñar bien.
3. La chica ________________ ayudar a su hermano.
4. Ellos ________________ _____ leer el libro.
5. Yo ______________________ ser un estudiante bueno.
Translate
1. Anna and I have to use the computer. ___________________________________
2. The dog has to drink water. __________________________________________
3. My friends have to buy lunch.______________________________________
4. You all have to wait for the bus after school
_____________________________________________________________
5. You (familiar) have to prepare for a test in Spanish Class.
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¿Qué tienes que hacer hoy?
____________________________________________________________________
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