Tengo que firmar el documento antes de la reunión.

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Breakdown of Tengo que firmar el documento antes de la reunión.

• el: the
• antes de: before
• la reunión: the meeting

Questions & Answers about Tengo que firmar el documento antes de la reunión.

Why doesn’t the sentence start with yo? Can I say Yo tengo que firmar el documento…?

Spanish normally drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is. Tengo can only mean “I have”, so yo is not needed.

• Tengo que firmar… = perfectly natural and most common.
• Yo tengo que firmar… = also correct, but usually used for emphasis or contrast, e.g. Yo tengo que firmar el documento, no tú. (“I have to sign the document, not you.”)

What exactly does tener que mean, and how is it different from deber or hay que?

Tener que + infinitive expresses a personal obligation: “to have to do something.”

• Tengo que firmar el documento. = “I have to sign the document.” (a clear, concrete obligation)

Common comparisons:

• deber + infinitive

  • Often “should / ought to,” sometimes “must,” with a nuance of duty, recommendation, or moral obligation.
  • Debo firmar el documento. = “I should / I ought to sign the document” (or “I must,” but sounds more formal/serious).

• hay que + infinitive

  • Impersonal, general obligation: “one must / you have to / it is necessary to.”
  • Hay que firmar el documento antes de la reunión. = “The document has to be signed before the meeting / One must sign the document before the meeting.”

In everyday speech in Spain, tener que is the most common way to say “have to.”

Why do we need que after tengo? Can I say Tengo firmar el documento?