Breakdown of Hay que mantener la calma en el hospital.
en
in / on / at
el hospital
the hospital
haber
to be (there is / there are)
que
that / than
mantener
to maintain / to keep (a state or condition)
la calma
the calm (noun)
Questions & Answers about Hay que mantener la calma en el hospital.
Why use hay que instead of tienes que if the translation says "You have to"?
Hay que expresses a general rule that applies to everyone ("one must" or "people must"), rather than an obligation for one specific person. Since keeping calm in a hospital is a rule for everyone, hay que is perfect here. Tienes que would mean you are telling a specific person "you (specifically) must".
Why is the verb mantener not conjugated here?
The phrase hay que is a set phrase meaning "it is necessary to" or "one must". It is always followed directly by an unconjugated verb (an infinitive). That is why we use the base form mantener instead of a conjugated form like mantiene.
Why is there a la before calma? In English we just say "keep calm".
In English, "calm" acts as an adjective in this phrase. In Spanish, calma is a feminine noun meaning "calmness" or "peace". Spanish requires definite articles (el or la) before abstract nouns much more often than English does, so you are literally saying "maintain the calm".
How do you pronounce hospital in Spanish?
The letter 'h' is always silent in Spanish. Also, the word stress falls on the final syllable because the word ends in a consonant other than 'n' or 's'. So it sounds like "os-pee-TAL".
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