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El hombre está enfermo, hay que llamar una ambulancia.

El hombre está enfermo, hay que llamar una ambulancia.
The man is sick, one has to call an ambulance.
From Lesson 84:Impersonal obligation (hay que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El hombre está enfermo, hay que llamar una ambulancia.

Why do we use hay que instead of tiene que here?
Hay que is used to talk about a general necessity or rule without saying who specifically needs to do it. It translates to 'one must', 'someone needs to', or 'it is necessary to'. If we used tiene que llamar, it would mean the sick man himself has to call the ambulance!
Is the phrase hay que always followed by an infinitive?
Yes! When you use hay que to say 'one must do something', the action that needs to be done stays in its base form (the infinitive). Here, we use llamar (to call) without conjugating it.
Why is it está enfermo and not es enfermo?
We use the verb estar for states of health and temporary physical conditions. The man is currently sick, so we use está. If you used es (from the verb ser), it would imply being sick is his permanent identity or nature.
Why isn't there a 'personal a' after llamar? Shouldn't it be llamar a una ambulancia?
The 'personal a' is only used when the direct object of the verb is a specific person or a beloved pet. Since una ambulancia is a vehicle, no 'personal a' is needed. If you were calling a specific doctor, however, it would be llamar al doctor.

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