Breakdown of Para ese maratón hay que entrenar muchos meses con un plan sensato.
Questions & Answers about Para ese maratón hay que entrenar muchos meses con un plan sensato.
Hay que + infinitive is an impersonal way to express obligation or necessity.
- hay = a form of haber meaning “there is/there are”
- que + infinitive = “to [do something]”
So hay que entrenar is like saying:
- “It is necessary to train”, or
- “One must train”, or
- generic “You have to train” (in the general sense, not you personally).
There is no explicit subject (no “I/you/we/they”). It’s about what people in general must do.
All three express obligation, but they differ in who has the obligation and in the nuance:
Hay que entrenar
- Impersonal, general rule.
- Meaning: “You/one/people have to train” (in general).
- No clear subject. It’s like giving general advice or stating a general truth.
Tenemos que entrenar
- Personal and specific: “We have to train.”
- Subject = nosotros (we).
- Clear who must do it: our group.
Debo entrenar
- Personal and a bit more internal or moral: “I must train.”
- Subject = yo (I).
- Often sounds like a stronger personal responsibility or decision, sometimes more formal or serious than tengo que entrenar.
In short:
- hay que = general obligation
- tener que = specific person or group has an obligation
- deber = obligation with a nuance of duty / should / must
You must use the infinitive after hay que:
- ✅ hay que entrenar
- ❌ hay que entrenamos
The structure is hay que + infinitive (entrenar, estudiar, dormir, etc.).
Hay que does not combine with a conjugated verb like entrenamos.
Compare:
- Hay que entrenar. = One must train.
- Tenemos que entrenar. = We have to train.
When you want to show who must do it, you change hay que to a personal verb like tener que and then conjugate that verb (tenemos, tengo, tienen, etc.).
Here, para expresses purpose / goal / destination:
- para ese maratón = for that marathon (with the marathon as your goal).
In this sentence, you’re training with the purpose of running that marathon.
Por usually expresses reasons, causes, movement through, exchanges, etc. In this context:
- por ese maratón would usually sound more like “because of that marathon” or “on account of that marathon”, which doesn’t fit the idea of preparing for it as a goal.
So:
- para ese maratón → I am training for the purpose of that marathon (so I can run it).
Yes, sensato is close to English sensible, but be careful with sensible in Spanish:
sensato
- Means “sensible, prudent, reasonable, with good judgment.”
- un plan sensato → a sensible / well-thought-out plan.
sensible (in Spanish)
- False friend!
- Means “sensitive” (emotionally or physically).
- una persona sensible → a sensitive person (emotional, easily affected).
- piel sensible → sensitive skin.
So:
- English sensible → Spanish sensato (or razonable).
- Spanish sensible → English sensitive.
You can absolutely say both:
un plan sensato
- Emphasizes good judgment and prudence.
- Something realistic, not extreme or reckless.
un plan razonable
- Very close in meaning; emphasizes reason / logic / being reasonable.
- Also sounds natural: un plan razonable de entrenamiento.
un buen plan
- More general: just “a good plan.”
- It could be good for many reasons (effective, fun, cheap, etc.), not specifically because it’s prudent or realistic.
So all are correct:
- un plan sensato = a sensible plan (focus on prudence)
- un plan razonable = a reasonable plan
- un buen plan = a good plan (broader, more general)
In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun:
- mes (month) → masculine, singular
- meses (months) → masculine, plural
The quantifier mucho also changes:
- mucho mes → a lot of month (singular; sounds odd by itself)
- muchos meses → many months / a lot of months
So you need the plural form muchos to match meses:
- ✅ muchos meses (many months)
- ❌ mucho meses (wrong agreement)
You could also say:
- mucho tiempo = a long time / a lot of time (here tiempo is singular, so mucho is singular too).
Yes, Spanish allows some flexibility in word order. These options are all grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:
Para ese maratón hay que entrenar muchos meses con un plan sensato.
- Neutral, clear.
- Focus on the condition for that marathon (for that event, you must do X).
Hay que entrenar muchos meses para ese maratón con un plan sensato.
- Begins with the general obligation.
- Then adds purpose (para ese maratón) and the manner (con un plan sensato).
Hay que entrenar muchos meses con un plan sensato para ese maratón.
- Very natural too.
- Slightly more emphasis on the way you must train: for many months, with a sensible plan.
Para ese maratón hay que entrenar con un plan sensato muchos meses.
- Also possible, but muchos meses feels a bit heavier at the end.
- Still understood as “for many months.”
Native speakers would most commonly say versions like 1, 2, or 3. The meaning doesn’t really change; just the rhythm and which part feels more emphasized.
Maratón can actually be masculine or feminine, depending on region and speaker.
- In much of Latin America, el maratón / ese maratón (masculine) is more common.
- In some places (and in some speakers), you may also hear la maratón / esa maratón (feminine).
Both genders are accepted by many dictionaries, often with masculine listed as the primary option.
In this sentence, the speaker chose the masculine:
- ese maratón = that marathon.
If you want to make it specifically “we”, you can use tener que:
- Para ese maratón tenemos que entrenar muchos meses con un plan sensato.
- tenemos que = we have to
You could also say:
- Para ese maratón debemos entrenar muchos meses con un plan sensato.
- debemos = we must / we should (often a bit stronger or more formal).
Both are natural; tenemos que is more common in everyday speech.
Hay que is very common and natural in Latin America, especially for general advice:
- Para ese maratón hay que entrenar muchos meses…
= For that marathon, you have to (people in general have to) train for many months…
Other very natural options runners might use include:
Para ese maratón tienes que entrenar muchos meses…
- Addressing you directly (tú): you (personally) have to train.
Uno tiene que entrenar muchos meses para ese maratón.
- Literally: one has to train… (similar to hay que, but with uno).
In some countries you might also hear:
- Toca entrenar muchos meses para ese maratón.
- Colloquial: “It’s time to / you’ve got to train many months…”
- Toca entrenar muchos meses para ese maratón.
Still, hay que is completely natural and correct across Latin America for general recommendations or rules.
Con here means “with” in the sense of “using / accompanied by / supported by.”
- con un plan sensato = with a sensible plan / following a sensible plan
You can say usando un plan sensato, but it changes the feel slightly:
con un plan sensato
- Very natural and common.
- Neutral, short, and idiomatic: you train with a certain plan.
usando un plan sensato
- Literally: “using a sensible plan.”
- Also correct, but sounds a bit more explicit or technical; less compact.
In everyday speech about training, con un plan sensato is the most natural option.