Tienes que cuidar a tu hermano.

Questions & Answers about Tienes que cuidar a tu hermano.

Why is 'que' used here instead of just 'tienes cuidar'?
In Spanish, to say you "have to" do something, you use the phrase tener que followed by an infinitive verb (the base form of a verb that ends in -ar, -er, or -ir, like cuidar). The que acts like the "to" in "have to" and connects the two verbs.
Why is there an 'a' before 'tu hermano'?
This is called the "personal a." In Spanish, when the target of a verb's action is a person (or a beloved pet), you must put an a right before them. Since the brother is a person receiving the care, we must say cuidar a tu hermano.
Why doesn't 'tu' have an accent mark in this sentence?
Without the accent mark, tu means "your" (a possessive word). With the accent, means "you" (the person). Since we are talking about "your brother," we use the unaccented tu.
Do I need to say 'Tú tienes que...' or is just 'Tienes que...' enough?
Just Tienes que is perfect! Because the verb tienes already tells us that "you" are the one who has to do it, adding the word at the beginning isn't necessary unless you really want to emphasize who has to do the caring.

Learn Tienes que cuidar a tu hermano and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Practice with interactive exercises
  • Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • Learn at your own pace — completely free