El empleado tiene que estudiar el curso.

The employee has to study the course.

Breakdown of El empleado tiene que estudiar el curso.

• el: the
• estudiar: to study
• tener que: to have to
• el curso: the course
• el empleado: the employee

Questions & Answers about El empleado tiene que estudiar el curso.

Why does the sentence use tiene que instead of just tiene?

In Spanish, tiene on its own can mean he/she/you (formal) has, but adding que creates the expression tener que, which means to have to or must. It expresses the idea of obligation or necessity, so el empleado tiene que estudiar means the employee must study.

Is there a difference between using tiene que estudiar and debe estudiar?

Both forms convey a sense of obligation. Tiene que estudiar is more direct and colloquial, meaning has to study. Debe estudiar can sound slightly more formal or suggest a strong recommendation, translating to should study or ought to study. However, in everyday speech, tiene que is more common for stating a direct obligation.

Why is the word el used before empleado and curso?

In Spanish, nouns generally need a definite article like el (masculine singular) or la (feminine singular) to indicate a specific person or thing. Here, el empleado specifies the employee, and el curso specifies the course. Spanish tends to use definite articles more often than English does.

Could I say la empleada if the worker is female?

Yes! Spanish nouns referring to people often indicate masculine or feminine with -o or -a endings. If the employee is female, you would say la empleada. Make sure to match the article as well: el empleado (masculine) and la empleada (feminine).

Is estudiar always used the same way in Spanish?

Estudiar typically means to study, and Spanish uses it in much the same contexts as English uses to study. You can say estudiar un curso, estudiar un libro, or estudiar la materia. If you want to imply to learn, you could say aprender, but when discussing formal study (like taking a course), estudiar is the right verb.