Log inSign up

Tienes que lavar esas blusas.

Tienes que lavar esas blusas.
You have to wash those blouses.
From Lesson 63:Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Tienes que lavar esas blusas.

Why do we use esas here instead of esos?
Esas means "those" (pointing to things a short distance away). In Spanish, this word must match the gender and number of the noun it points to. Since blusas (blouses) is feminine and plural, we use the feminine plural form esas. If you were talking about masculine items, like zapatos (shoes), you would use esos.
Why is there a que right after tienes?
The verb tener on its own means "to have" (like owning something, such as "I have a dog"). But the phrase tener que is a special combination that means "to have to" or "must" do something. So, tienes que simply translates to "you have to".
Why isn't the verb lavar conjugated to match "you"?
When you use the tener que formula to say someone has to do a task, the action word that follows always stays in its original dictionary form (the infinitive). Because tienes is already changed to show that "you" are the one who has to do it, lavar (to wash) doesn't need to change.
Can I put tú at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes, you could say Tú tienes que lavar esas blusas. However, Spanish speakers usually drop the tú because the verb tienes already makes it perfectly clear who you are talking to.

Learn Tienes que lavar esas blusas 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
Start learning Spanish →