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Tengo que levantarme temprano mañana.

Tengo que levantarme temprano mañana.
I have to get up early tomorrow.
From Lesson 58:Obligation (tener que)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Tengo que levantarme temprano mañana.

Why is there a que after Tengo?
In Spanish, to say you have to do something, you use the phrase tener que followed by the full action word (an infinitive). If you leave out que, the verb tengo just means you own or possess something. So, Tengo que is the special combination that means 'I have to'.
Why is me attached to the end of levantar?
The verb levantarse (to get up) is a reflexive verb, which means the action is done to oneself (literally, 'to raise oneself'). Because it is you getting up, you must use the pronoun me (myself). When a verb is in its unchanged infinitive form, as it is after tener que, you attach this pronoun directly to the end of the word to make levantarme.
Could I put the me before the verb instead of attaching it to the end?
Yes! With phrases like tener que, you have two choices for where to put the reflexive pronoun. You can attach it to the end of the action verb (Tengo que levantarme), or you can place it before the conjugated verb (Me tengo que levantar). Both mean exactly the same thing.
Where is the word for 'I' in this sentence?
In Spanish, the ending of the verb usually tells you who is doing the action. The -o ending in Tengo already tells us it means 'I have', so you don't need to add the word for 'I' (yo). You could say Yo tengo que levantarme, but native speakers usually drop the yo.

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