Breakdown of En una emergencia, hay que llamar a la guardia.
una
a, an (feminine)
en
in / on / at
haber
to be (there is / there are)
llamar
to call / to attract (attention)
que
that / than
la emergencia
the emergency
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
la guardia
the guard (corps), the watch
Questions & Answers about En una emergencia, hay que llamar a la guardia.
Why does this sentence use hay que instead of tienes que to say 'you have to'?
Hay que is used for impersonal obligations. It means 'one must' or 'it is necessary to' do something, without pointing to a specific person. If you said tienes que llamar, it would specifically mean 'YOU (personally) have to call.' Since this is a general rule for anyone in an emergency, hay que is the perfect fit!
What is the rule for the verb after hay que?
Why is there an a before la guardia?
This is the 'personal a.' In Spanish, when the direct object of a verb (the receiver of the action) is a person, a specific group of people, or a beloved pet, you must put the word a right before it. Since you are calling people (la guardia), you need the a.
Is guardia a feminine word? I thought professions ending in -a could be masculine, like 'el dentista'.
The word guardia is very flexible! If you are talking about a specific male guard, it is el guardia. If you mean a female guard, it is la guardia. However, la guardia is also used to mean 'the guard' as a collective group, force, or patrol (like security or the police). In this sentence, it refers to the general group you call for help.
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