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Spanish (Spain)

### Expressing General Obligations with *Hay que*

When you want to state a general rule or obligation without pointing to a specific person, Spanish uses the phrase **hay que**. It translates roughly to "one must" or "it is necessary to."

To use it, simply combine **hay que** with an infinitive verb (a verb in its unconjugated form, ending in **-ar**, **-er**, or **-ir**). Since it is an impersonal expression, the form never changes!

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### Talking About Safety Guidelines

Because **hay que** is perfect for stating what is required, it is heavily used for safety guidelines (**la seguridad**) and regulations (**las normas**).

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### Setting Conditions with *Si*

You can easily combine these general obligations with the word **si** (if) to explain what must be done in specific situations or emergencies.

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Impersonal obligation (hay que)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Question	Answer
one must, it is necessary to (+ infinitive)	hay que
to respect	respetar
the rule	la norma
One must respect the rules.	Hay que respetar las normas.
the safety / security (guards, staff)	la seguridad
The doctor is going to teach the safety rules.	La médica va a enseñar las normas de seguridad.
to use	usar
the helmet	el casco
One must use the helmet for safety.	Hay que usar el casco por seguridad.
The grandfather is going to buy a helmet.	El abuelo va a comprar un casco.
The engineer believes that one must use this tool.	El ingeniero cree que hay que usar esta herramienta.
the attention	la atención
the sign	la señal
One must pay attention to the signs.	Hay que prestar atención a las señales.
Pay attention and respect the sign!	¡Presta atención y respeta la señal!
to protect	proteger
the fire	el fuego
One must protect the forest from the fire.	Hay que proteger el bosque del fuego.
if	si
If you see a fire, one must leave here.	Si ves un fuego, hay que salir de aquí.
If there is a problem, one must protect the people.	Si hay un problema, hay que proteger a la gente.