Breakdown of El dentista tuvo que matar el nervio de la muela.
de
of
tener
to have
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
el dentista
the dentist
Questions & Answers about El dentista tuvo que matar el nervio de la muela.
Why is tuvo que used here instead of tenía que?
In Spanish, using the preterite tuvo que implies that the dentist both had the obligation and actually completed the action of killing the nerve. If we used the imperfect tenía que, it would mean he was obligated to do it, but it would leave it ambiguous as to whether he actually went through with it.
Why use muela instead of diente?
Since the dentist is male (El dentista), shouldn't the noun end in -o?
Is matar el nervio the standard way to talk about a root canal in Spain?
Yes, matar el nervio (literally to kill the nerve) is the most common, everyday expression people use in Spain for a root canal. You might also hear or see the technical medical term una endodoncia at a dental clinic, but patients colloquially say matar el nervio.