Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Tengo que pagar la matrícula antes del lunes.

tengo que pagar = I have to pay / I must pay
The que is obligatory in this construction. You can’t omit it: ✗ tengo pagar is wrong.
tengo de pagar sounds archaic or literary in modern Spanish; in everyday Peninsular Spanish people overwhelmingly say tener que + infinitive.

You may add yo if you want to emphasize the subject, but it’s not required:

Yo tengo que pagar la matrícula… (I, as opposed to someone else, have to pay…)

Could I say debo pagar la matrícula instead of tengo que pagar la matrícula? What’s the difference?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

Tengo que pagar la matrícula…
- Very common, neutral, everyday way to express obligation.
- Often used for external obligations: deadlines, rules, requirements, etc.
Debo pagar la matrícula…
- A bit more formal or “moral” in tone in modern use.
- Can suggest a sense of duty or something you ought to do, not only something required from outside.

In everyday speech in Spain, tengo que + infinitive is more frequent than deber + infinitive for this kind of practical obligation (paying a fee before a date).

Why is there no “yo” at the beginning? Shouldn’t it be Yo tengo que pagar… for “I have to pay…”?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject:

tengo already tells you it’s yo (I), because the -o ending is specific to the first person singular.
Saying Yo tengo que pagar… is grammatically fine, but it adds emphasis, like:
- I (and not someone else) have to pay the registration.

So the “default”, unmarked version is simply Tengo que pagar la matrícula….

What exactly does matrícula mean here, and is it specific to Spain?

In this sentence (in Spain), la matrícula refers to:

The enrollment / registration fee (often at a university, school, course, driving school, etc.)
Sometimes more broadly to the tuition / cost of registering.

In Peninsular Spanish:

matrícula =
- the act of enrolling (enrollment), and/or
- the fee you pay to enroll.

Other meanings:

In Spain, la matrícula can also mean a car’s license plate.

In many Latin American countries, other terms are more usual for tuition/fees (e.g. colegiatura, mensualidad, etc.), though matrícula is still understood as “enrollment” in an academic context.

Why does it say la matrícula and not just matrícula without the article?

Spanish uses definite articles more widely than English.

Here, la matrícula refers to a specific, known fee: the registration fee for your course/program.

Tengo que pagar la matrícula…
= I have to pay the registration fee (the one we both know about).

If you drop the article:

✗ Tengo que pagar matrícula sounds incomplete or non‑native in this context.

Compare:

Tengo que pagar el alquiler. – I have to pay the rent.
Tengo que pagar la hipoteca. – I have to pay the mortgage.

In all of these, Spanish uses el/la where English uses a generic “the” (often omitted or understood in English).

Why is it antes del lunes and not antes de el lunes?

In Spanish, the preposition de + the masculine singular article el must contract to del:

de + el = del
- antes de el lunes → antes del lunes

This contraction is:

Obligatory when el is the definite article (“the”).
Not used when él is the pronoun (“he”), but that’s written with an accent and not used here anyway.

So:

antes del lunes = correct
✗ antes de el lunes = incorrect in standard Spanish

What does antes del lunes mean exactly in terms of time?

antes del lunes means:

“before Monday” – the action must be completed at some point prior to Monday.

Normally this implies:

The deadline is sometime on Sunday at the latest, or even earlier, depending on context.
Doing it on Monday is too late.

So the idea is that by the time Monday arrives, the payment should already be done.

What’s the difference between antes del lunes, para el lunes, and el lunes?

They all relate to time, but with different nuances:

antes del lunes – before Monday
- Payment must be done by some point before Monday starts.
- Monday itself is already too late.
para el lunes – by Monday / for Monday
- More flexible: the payment must be done no later than Monday.
- You can pay on Monday and still meet the deadline, unless context says otherwise.
el lunes – on Monday
- States the day when you’ll pay:
  - Pago la matrícula el lunes. – I’ll pay the fee on Monday.

In your sentence, antes del lunes emphasizes that the deadline is strictly before that day.

Why does lunes have el in del lunes? English doesn’t say “the Monday” in this case.

Spanish often uses a definite article with days of the week, especially when they are:

Specific reference points in time (this Monday / next Monday as a deadline, etc.)
Part of an expression like el lunes, el martes, etc., meaning “on Monday/Tuesday” or “that Monday”.

So:

el lunes = on Monday / that Monday
antes del lunes = before Monday (before that specific Monday we have in mind)

English usually omits “the” with days (before Monday), but Spanish commonly keeps the article.

Why use the present tense (tengo) if the deadline is in the future? Would tendré que pagar be better?

Spanish very often uses the present tense to talk about:

Current obligations that relate to future actions.

Tengo que pagar la matrícula antes del lunes means:

Right now, I have this obligation, and it must be completed before Monday.

You can say:

Tendré que pagar la matrícula antes del lunes. – I will have to pay the registration fee before Monday.

Difference in nuance:

Tengo que pagar…
- The obligation exists now; it’s already real or decided.
Tendré que pagar…
- Sounds a bit more like a future situation, perhaps something anticipated or not yet current.

In everyday conversation, tengo que + infinitive is more common for practical, real obligations that already feel present.

Is there any reason it’s pagar la matrícula and not pagar por la matrícula?

With pagar, Spanish has two main patterns:

pagar + direct object (no preposition):
- pagar la matrícula – to pay the fee
- pagar la cuenta – to pay the bill
- pagar el alquiler – to pay the rent
pagar por + noun/pronoun when you mean “to pay for something / in exchange for something”:
- ¿Cuánto pagaste por el coche? – How much did you pay for the car?
- Pagué mucho por esto. – I paid a lot for this.

In your sentence, la matrícula is the thing being paid (the bill/fee itself), so Spanish uses pagar la matrícula (direct object), not pagar por la matrícula.

How is matrícula pronounced, and what does the accent mark do?

matrícula is pronounced approximately:

[ma-TRI-ku-la] in IPA: [maˈtɾi.ku.la]

Syllable breakdown:

ma – trí – cu – la

The written accent on í shows that the main stress falls on that syllable:

ma TRÍ cu la

Without the accent (matricula), by default the stress would fall on the second‑to‑last syllable (triCUla), which would be incorrect here. The accent mark ensures correct pronunciation: ma‑TRÍ‑cu‑la.

What is the infinitive of tengo, and is it irregular?

The infinitive is tener (to have).

Conjugation in the present indicative (for reference):

yo tengo – I have
tú tienes – you have (singular, informal)
él / ella / usted tiene – he/she has, you (formal) have
nosotros/as tenemos – we have
vosotros/as tenéis – you (plural, informal in Spain) have
ellos / ellas / ustedes tienen – they have, you (plural) have

It’s an irregular verb, especially in the yo form (tengo, not teno), and in the stem change e → ie in other persons (tienes, tiene…). In tengo que pagar, we use yo tengo.