Learn Spanish (Spain): Te tengo que contar una cosa.

Te tengo que contar una cosa.

I have to tell you something.

Breakdown of Te tengo que contar una cosa.

that (relative pronoun, conjunction)

to you / yourself (reflexive) / you (direct object)

Questions & Answers about Te tengo que contar una cosa.

Why is te at the very beginning of the sentence?

Te is an object pronoun meaning "to you". When you have a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive (like tengo que contar), you have two choices. You can put the pronoun before the conjugated verb (Te tengo que contar una cosa) or attach it directly to the end of the infinitive (Tengo que contarte una cosa). Both are perfectly correct and mean the same thing.

Doesn't tengo just mean "I have"? Why do we need que here?

By itself, tener means "to have" (as in possessing something). But when you use the special formula tener que followed by an infinitive verb (like contar), it means "to have to" do something. So tengo que contar translates to "I have to tell".

The English translation says "something". Doesn't una cosa literally mean "a thing"? Could I use algo instead?

Yes, you could absolutely say Te tengo que contar algo. Both are correct. However, in conversational Spanish, it is extremely common to say una cosa (literally "a thing") when you have specific news, gossip, or a story you want to share with someone.

I thought contar meant "to count". Does it also mean "to tell"?

It means both! You can use contar to mean counting numbers. But it is also the standard verb for telling a story, a joke, or sharing news with someone, which is exactly how it is being used in this sentence.