Tener + Que + Infinitive (Have To) | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

The construction tener + que + infinitive is the most direct and common way to express personal obligation in Spanish. It translates to "have to" in English and communicates a necessity or requirement that applies to a specific person.

It's stronger and more personal than deber + infinitive, and more individual than hay que + infinitive, which is impersonal.

Formation

Conjugate tener in any tense, add que, and follow with an infinitive. Remember that tener is irregular in several tenses.

Subject	Tener (present)	que + Infinitive
yo	tengo	tengo que estudiar
tú	tienes	tienes que estudiar
él/ella/usted	tiene	tiene que estudiar
nosotros	tenemos	tenemos que estudiar
ustedes/ellos	tienen	tienen que estudiar

Tengo que estudiar para el examen de mañana.

I have to study for tomorrow's exam.

Tenemos que llegar antes de las siete.

We have to get there before seven.

Strength of Obligation

Tener que expresses a strong, unavoidable obligation. It's the verb to use when something is non-negotiable or important:

Tienes que ir al médico si te sientes mal.

You have to go to the doctor if you feel sick.

Tuvo que trabajar todo el fin de semana.

He had to work all weekend.

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Tener que is the go-to for personal obligations. If you're deciding between tener que, deber, and hay que, choose tener que whenever the obligation applies to a specific person (especially yourself) and feels like a genuine requirement, not just advice.

Past Tense Uses

In the preterite, tuvo que + infinitive means "had to (and did)":

Tuve que cancelar la cita porque me enfermé.

I had to cancel the appointment because I got sick.

In the imperfect, tenía que + infinitive describes a past obligation without necessarily confirming that it was carried out:

Tenía que llamarte, pero se me olvidó por completo.

I had to call you, but I completely forgot.

Comparison Table

Expression	Meaning	Strength
tener que	have to (personal)	Strong
deber	should/must (moral)	Medium–Strong
hay que	one must (impersonal)	General
necesitar	need to	Medium

With Object Pronouns

Object pronouns can go before tener or attach to the infinitive:

Lo tengo que hacer ahora. / Tengo que hacerlo ahora.

I have to do it now.

Negative Form

The negation no tener que + infinitive means "not have to" (i.e., not be obligated). It does not mean "must not".

No tienes que venir si no quieres.

You don't have to come if you don't want to.

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To say "must not" or "shouldn't" (prohibition), use no debes or no puedes instead. No tienes que fumar means "you don't have to smoke", not "you must not smoke". For prohibition, say no debes fumar or no puedes fumar.

In Conditional and Future

Use the conditional to soften the obligation into a suggestion, and the future to project obligations forward:

Tendrías que hablar con el jefe sobre el problema.

You should talk to the boss about the problem.

Tendré que comprarle un regalo para su cumpleaños.

I'll have to buy her a gift for her birthday.

Compare with the impersonal hay que + infinitive and the softer deber + infinitive.