Expressing Obligation with Tener que + Infinitive

Imagine you are invited to a party that you can't go to because you have other plans. How do you say this in Spanish?

The verb tener by itself has four main functions. It can be used to state your age as well as to express moods, physical descriptions, and possession. However, when accompanied by the relative pronoun que + an infinitive verb, it has the function of expressing obligation, necessity, or commitment.

Revising the Verb Tener

As mentioned, the verb tener by itself is used to:

Rule 1. State your age

Rule 2. Indicate possession.

Rule 3. Express states or moods.

Rule 4. Finally, it can be used in physical descriptions.

Rule 5. It is also important to remember that the verb tener is an irregular verb. Here is how it is conjugated.

Uses of Tener que + Infinitive

And not that we are familiar with the common uses of the verb tener, let's discover how it works within the construction tender que + infinitive.

Rule 6. This construction is mainly used to express obligation.

Rule 7. It is also used to express necessity.

Rule 8. And it is used for commitments.

As you can see in the examples, this construction can be used not just in the present, but also in other other tenses.

Here is a conjugation of the verb tener in the present, preterite, imperfect and simple future.

Forming the Construction Tener que + Infinitive

Rule 9. The structure of this construction is very simple. All you have to do is to conjugate the verb tener in the tense that you need, add the relative pronoun que, and add an verb in the infinitive form. Remember that infinitive verbs are those that have not yet been conjugated.

Affirmative form

Here is an example with the sentence "I have to buy groceries."

Negative form

Rule 9. To make the sentence negative, simply add a negative word before the verb. Here is an example with the sentence "We didn't have to go to the party."

Interrogative form

Rule 10. To make an interrogative sentence (a question), simply add the interrogative pronoun or adverb (if necessary) or just the question marks. Here is an example with the sentence "What do we have to do as homework?"

And look at another example without an interrogative word in the sentence "Do we have to go?"

So now, you should be able to tell the people who invited you to that party that you can't go because you have something else to do.

Now let's practice!