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Vocês têm de enviar a mensagem ao médico.

Vocês têm de enviar a mensagem ao médico.
You have to send the message to the doctor.
From Lesson 48:Expressing obligation (ter de)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Vocês têm de enviar a mensagem ao médico.

How does the "have to" part work in this sentence?
To express obligation (something you must do), Portuguese uses the verb ter (to have) + de + an action verb in its base form (the infinitive). Here, we have têm (you all have) + de + enviar (to send).
Why does têm have a little hat (accent) on the 'e'?
The circumflex accent shows that it is the plural form. Você tem (without the accent) means "you have" for one person. Because the subject here is Vocês (you, plural), we use têm. In writing, this accent is the only way to tell them apart!
Why is it ao médico instead of just a médico?
In English, you say "to the doctor". In Portuguese, the preposition a (to) and the masculine word for "the", which is o, merge together into a single word. Since médico is a masculine noun, a + o combines into ao.
Can I drop the word Vocês from the beginning of the sentence?
Yes! In Portuguese, the verb often tells you who the subject is. Because têm already means "they" or "you all", you could simply say Têm de enviar a mensagem ao médico, unless you really need to emphasize who is doing it.

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