Learn Spanish (Latin America): Ustedes tienen que hacer la tarea.

Ustedes tienen que hacer la tarea.

You have to do the homework.

Breakdown of Ustedes tienen que hacer la tarea.

Questions & Answers about Ustedes tienen que hacer la tarea.

Why is the word que in the middle of tienen and hacer?

This is how Spanish expresses obligation, matching the English phrase 'have to'. You conjugate the verb tener (to have), add que, and then add the action you need to do. Without que, tener just means possessing something, rather than having to do something.

Why do we use tienen for ustedes? Isn't tienen the 'they' form?

In Latin America, ustedes is the standard way to say 'you all' or 'you guys'. Even though it means 'you', it always uses the exact same verb conjugations as ellos and ellas (they). Because of this, tienen is the correct form for both 'they have' and 'you all have'.

Do I need to conjugate hacer so it matches ustedes as well?

No. When you use the tener que structure, only the first verb (tener) changes to match the person. The second verb (hacer) stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form, just like the 'to do' part in the English translation.

Does la tarea only mean school homework?