Learn Spanish (Spain): Los exámenes son difíciles; tenemos que estudiar mucho. - The exams are difficult; we have to study a lot.

Los exámenes son difíciles; tenemos que estudiar mucho.

The exams are difficult; we have to study a lot.

Breakdown of Los exámenes son difíciles; tenemos que estudiar mucho.

Questions & Answers about Los exámenes son difíciles; tenemos que estudiar mucho.

Why is que needed in tenemos que estudiar?

This is the set phrase for expressing obligation: tener (conjugated) + que + an infinitive verb (like estudiar). Together, it translates to "to have to do something." If you leave out que, it doesn't make sense, just like saying "we have study" in English.

Why does exámenes have an accent mark when the singular word examen doesn't?

Words ending in 'n' naturally stress the second-to-last syllable, so examen sounds like ex-A-men. When you make it plural by adding -es, you add a new syllable (ex-A-me-nes). To keep the spoken stress on the 'a', Spanish requires a written accent mark: exámenes.

Why do we use son instead of están for "are difficult"?

You use ser (which becomes son for "they are") to describe inherent characteristics or defining qualities. Because being difficult is a core trait of these exams, we use ser, not estar.

Why doesn't mucho have an 's' on the end to match the plural exámenes?

In this sentence, mucho describes the verb estudiar (we have to study "a lot"), not the exams. Words that describe actions are called adverbs, and they never change their endings to match nouns.