Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Hoy tengo que levantarme más temprano porque tengo una cita con la psicóloga. - Today I have to get up earlier because I have an appointment with the psychologist.

tener que + infinitive
- Very common and neutral way to say you must / have to do something.
- Implies an obligation or something imposed by circumstances.
- Hoy tengo que levantarme más temprano = Today I have to get up earlier.
necesitar + infinitive
- Literally “to need to.”
- Focuses more on a personal or practical need.
- Hoy necesito levantarme más temprano sounds more like “I need to get up earlier today” (for my plans, for my benefit).

In everyday speech in Latin America, tengo que is more common for daily obligations like work, appointments, etc. So the sentence with tengo que is the most natural default.

Why is it levantarme and not just levantar?

Because the verb is reflexive here.

levantar = to lift / raise (something or someone else)
- Levanto la mano. = I raise my hand.
levantarse = to get up (yourself)
- Me levanto temprano. = I get up early.

In tengo que levantarme, the -me refers back to the subject yo.
Literally: tengo que levantarme = “I have to get myself up.”

If you said tengo que levantar temprano without -me, it would sound like “I have to lift (something) early,” which doesn’t make sense here.

Why is the pronoun attached at the end (levantarme) instead of before the verb, like me tengo que levantar?

Both positions are grammatically correct:

TENGO QUE + infinitive + pronoun attached
- Tengo que levantarme más temprano.
Pronoun + TENGO QUE + infinitive
- Me tengo que levantar más temprano.

RULE:
With two-verb constructions (conjugated verb + infinitive or gerund), object and reflexive pronouns can:

Go before the conjugated verb:
- Me tengo que levantar.
Or be attached to the infinitive/gerund:
- Tengo que levantarme.

In Latin American Spanish, both options are very common. Your sentence uses the attached form, which sounds natural and slightly more compact.

What’s the difference between levantarse and despertarse?

despertarse = to wake up (stop sleeping)
- Me despierto a las 6. = I wake up at 6.
levantarse = to get up (physically get out of bed or stand up)
- Me levanto a las 6:15. = I get up at 6:15.

You can wake up but stay in bed:

Me despierto a las 6, pero me levanto a las 6:30.

In your sentence, the focus is on getting up earlier, not just waking up. That’s why levantarme is used.

Why is it más temprano and not just temprano?

Temprano = early.
Más temprano = earlier / more early.

The sentence is comparing today’s waking time with the usual one:

Normal day: I get up at 8.
Today: I have to get up earlier than usual.

So más temprano expresses that comparative idea.
If you just said temprano, it would mean “I have to get up early,” without the sense of “earlier than normal.”

Could I say muy temprano instead of más temprano? What’s the difference?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

más temprano = earlier (than usual / than another time)
- Focus on comparison.
- Hoy tengo que levantarme más temprano = “earlier than I normally do.”
muy temprano = very early
- Focus on intensity, not comparison.
- Hoy tengo que levantarme muy temprano = “I have to get up very early today.”

So:

If you want to highlight that today’s time is earlier than usual, use más temprano.
If you want to emphasize that the time is really early in absolute terms, use muy temprano.

Why does más have an accent, but temprano doesn’t?

Más with an accent and mas without an accent are different words:

más (with accent) = more
- más temprano = earlier / more early
mas (without accent) = an old-fashioned word for “but” (rare in spoken Latin American Spanish).

In your sentence it clearly means “more,” so it must be más with an accent.

Temprano doesn’t need an accent because, according to Spanish stress rules, words ending in a vowel, n, or s are normally stressed on the second-to-last syllable.
tem-pra-no → stress on pra = regular pattern → no written accent.

Why is it porque (one word) and not por qué, por que, or porqué?

Spanish has four similar-looking forms:

porque (one word, no accent)
- Meaning: because
- Introduces a reason.
- No salgo porque llueve. = I’m not going out because it’s raining.
- Your sentence: porque tengo una cita con la psicóloga.
por qué (two words, accent on qué)
- Meaning: why (in questions)
- ¿Por qué no sales? = Why aren’t you going out?
porqué (one word, accented)
- Meaning: the reason (why) (a noun)
- No entiendo el porqué de tu enfado. = I don’t understand the reason for your anger.
por que (two words, no accent)
- Much less common; appears in more formal or specific structures (after certain prepositions or verbs), not relevant here.

In your sentence you give a reason (“because I have an appointment…”), so it must be porque.

Why is it una cita? I thought cita could mean a romantic “date.” How do I know it’s an appointment here?

Cita is flexible and can mean:

A formal appointment (doctor, dentist, psychologist, office, etc.)
- Tengo una cita con el dentista. = I have a dentist appointment.
- Tengo una cita en el consulado. = I have an appointment at the consulate.
A romantic date
- Tengo una cita con mi novio. = I have a date with my boyfriend.
A quotation / citation (in texts)
- Esa es una cita de Cervantes. = That is a quote from Cervantes.

In your sentence, context tells us it’s a professional appointment, because it’s con la psicóloga. We normally assume professional rather than romantic in this type of context.

In Latin America, you might also hear tengo turno con la psicóloga (especially in some countries), but tengo una cita is widely understood and standard.

Why is it con la psicóloga and not con psicóloga (without the article)?

In Spanish, you almost always need an article before a specific person’s profession:

Tengo cita con la psicóloga.
Tengo una cita con el médico.
Voy a hablar con la abogada.

Leaving out the article (con psicóloga) sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in this context.

You could drop the article in some fixed expressions like:

Soy psicóloga. = I am a psychologist.
(Here soy + profession usually goes without article.)

But when you talk about seeing or meeting a specific professional as a patient or client, you normally use the definite article:

Tengo una cita con la psicóloga. = an appointment with the (my / a specific) psychologist.

Why is it la psicóloga and not el psicólogo? Does the gender of the word always change?

Profession nouns in Spanish usually match the gender of the person:

Male psychologist: el psicólogo
Female psychologist: la psicóloga

In your sentence, la psicóloga tells us the psychologist is a woman.

So:

Tengo una cita con el psicólogo. = I have an appointment with a male psychologist.
Tengo una cita con la psicóloga. = I have an appointment with a female psychologist.

Yes, many profession nouns change this way:

el médico / la médica
el abogado / la abogada
el profesor / la profesora, etc.

Could I say mi psicóloga instead of la psicóloga? What’s the difference?

Yes:

Tengo una cita con la psicóloga.
- Neutral; often understood as “the psychologist I go to” (context-dependent).
- Doesn’t explicitly say ownership/ongoing relationship.
Tengo una cita con mi psicóloga.
- Emphasizes that she is your psychologist (an ongoing, personal professional relationship).

Both are grammatically correct.
Mi psicóloga is more personal and specific; la psicóloga can be a bit more generic.

Why is the preposition con used before la psicóloga? Could you use a instead?

With people you are meeting or spending time with, Spanish typically uses con (with):

Tengo una cita con la psicóloga. = I have an appointment with the psychologist.
Voy a cenar con mis amigos. = I’m going to have dinner with my friends.

Using a here (cita a la psicóloga) would be wrong. A is used differently:

As a personal a before a direct object that’s a person:
- Llamé a la psicóloga. = I called the psychologist.
To indicate direction:
- Voy a la psicóloga. = I’m going to (see) the psychologist.

So:

cita con la psicóloga = appointment with the psychologist.
voy a la psicóloga = I’m going to the psychologist.

Could I change the word order and say Hoy me tengo que levantar más temprano or Tengo que levantarme más temprano hoy?

Yes, both are correct and natural. All of these are fine:

Hoy tengo que levantarme más temprano.
Hoy me tengo que levantar más temprano.
Tengo que levantarme más temprano hoy.
Me tengo que levantar más temprano hoy.

Differences:

Hoy (today) can go at the beginning or the end; Spanish word order is flexible for adverbs of time.
The pronoun me can go:
- Attached to the infinitive: levantarme
- Before the conjugated verb: me tengo que levantar

All these options are correct; choice depends on emphasis and rhythm, not grammar.

Why is there no yo at the beginning, like Yo hoy tengo que levantarme…?

Spanish is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are often omitted because the verb form already shows the subject.

Tengo que levantarme… already tells us the subject is yo (I).
Adding yo is only needed for emphasis or contrast:
- Yo tengo que levantarme temprano, pero él no.
  = I have to get up early, but he doesn’t.

So Hoy tengo que levantarme… is the normal, unmarked form; Yo hoy tengo que levantarme… sounds more emphatic, like you’re highlighting your obligation compared to someone else’s.

How do you pronounce psicóloga, and why is there a p at the beginning if it’s not pronounced?

Pronunciation (roughly): see-KO-lo-ga (Latin American accent)

Details:

ps at the beginning: the p is silent in modern Spanish.
- psicóloga → sicóloga in sound.
Stress: psi-CÓ-lo-ga
- The written accent on ó shows the stress falls on that syllable: -có-.
Vowel sounds:
- i → like ee in see.
- o → like o in pot (but shorter, cleaner).
- a → like a in father.

So you write psicóloga, but you say it as if it were sicóloga, with the stress on có.