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¿Tenemos que comer el postre ahora?

¿Tenemos que comer el postre ahora?
Do we have to eat the dessert now?
From Lesson 68:Meals and Proteins·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about ¿Tenemos que comer el postre ahora?

Why is there a que after tenemos?
In Spanish, to say you 'have to' do something, you must use the set phrase tener que followed by the action. Without the que, tenemos simply means 'we have' (as in owning something). Together, tenemos que translates to 'we have to'.
Why isn't there a word for 'Do' at the beginning of the question?
Spanish doesn't use helper words like 'do' or 'does' to make questions. You simply take the normal statement—tenemos que comer el postre ahora—and add question marks, raising the pitch of your voice at the end when speaking.
Why do we use comer instead of changing it to match 'we' like comemos?
When you have a set phrase that combines two verbs, like tener que plus an action, only the first verb changes to match the person (tenemos for 'we'). The second verb stays in its base dictionary form, called an infinitive (comer, meaning 'to eat').
Is postre always masculine?
Yes! Words ending in -e can be tricky because they aren't obviously masculine or feminine like words ending in -o or -a. Postre is masculine, which is why it uses el instead of la.

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