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Os professores têm de ler o relatório hoje.

Os professores têm de ler o relatório hoje.
The teachers have to read the report today.
From Lesson 48:Expressing obligation (ter de)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Os professores têm de ler o relatório hoje.

o professor
the teacher (m)
hoje
today
ler
to read
ter de
to have to
o relatório
the report

Questions & Answers about Os professores têm de ler o relatório hoje.

Why do we need the word de after têm?
In Portuguese, when you want to express an obligation like "have to" or "must", you use the verb ter (to have) followed by the word de, and then the action verb. Together, têm de ler translates perfectly to "they have to read".
Why does têm have an accent mark on it?
That circumflex accent (the little hat) shows that the verb is plural. Without the accent, tem is singular ("he/she/it has"). Because os professores (the teachers) is plural, we must use têm ("they have").
Do I need to conjugate the verb ler to match the teachers?
No, you leave it exactly as it is! In the ter de structure, only the first verb (ter) changes to match the people doing the action. The second verb (ler) stays in its original dictionary form (the infinitive).
Could I say têm que ler instead of têm de ler?
You will definitely hear Portuguese people say ter que in fast, everyday speech. However, ter de is the grammatically correct way to express obligation in European Portuguese, so it is the best form to learn and use.

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