Questions & Answers about Mi padre tiene que cocinar hoy.
Why do we need the word que between tiene and cocinar?
In Spanish, to say someone 'has to' do something, you must use the set phrase tener que followed by an action. The word que acts as the bridge. Without it, tiene cocinar would literally mean 'he possesses to cook', which doesn't make sense.
Why is the verb cocinar in its dictionary form? Shouldn't it be conjugated to match 'my father'?
Why did we use tiene here instead of tengo?
Do I pronounce the 'h' in hoy?
No, the letter 'h' is always silent in Spanish. You pronounce hoy exactly as if it were spelled 'oy', rhyming with the English word 'boy'.