Breakdown of Hay que prestar atención a las señales.
a
to
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
prestar
to lend / to pay (attention)
hay que
one must, it is necessary to (+ infinitive)
la atención
the attention
la señal
the sign
Questions & Answers about Hay que prestar atención a las señales.
Why does this sentence use hay que instead of tener que?
Hay que is used to express an impersonal obligation, meaning it applies to everyone in general, like the English phrases 'one must' or 'people have to'. If you wanted to say a specific person has to do it, you would use tener que. For example, tienes que prestar atención means 'you have to pay attention'.
Why is the verb prestar used here? Doesn't it mean 'to lend'?
Yes, prestar usually means 'to lend'. However, in Spanish, you do not 'pay' attention like you do in English (which would use the money-related verb pagar). Instead, the set expression is always prestar atención, which literally translates as 'to lend attention'.
Why is there an a before las señales?
The full expression is prestar atención a, meaning 'to pay attention to'. Just like in English, you need the preposition a to connect the action to the specific object you are focusing on.
How do we know the gender of señales since the singular doesn't end in -a or -o?
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