"I have to study."
Translation:Tengo que estudiar.
21 Comments
The sentences " I have to study" and a previous sentence" We have to call the police" "Tengo que estudiar" and "Tenemos que llamar a la policia" I do not understand why the "que" is used in the Spanish response. Can anyone out there explain this to me. Please.
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It's been five years and you almost certainly know this now, but for anyone else first reading this thread:
No two languages ever map word-for-word. In English, we indicate obligation by saying that we have to do something; Spanish says that we have that do something: Tengo que hacerlo.
If it helps, think of it as saying, "this is something that I have to do".
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Here is an explanation I found: '"Tengo que" is the informal way of saying "Deber." Comparing the two phrases to English can be confusing because in English, "Have to" is obligation and "Should" is advisory; they have different meanings, whereas in Spanish, "Deber" can mean either, "Should" or "Have to." "Deber" can also mean probability: "Por como está vestido, él ha de ser soldado." "From how he is dressed, he must be (probably is) a soldier."'
Also of note, Spanish speakers seem to use 'deber' more as 'must' rather than 'should' implying greater obligation than the less formal 'tengo que' (literally means 'to have to') which is use more like 'should' is in English.
I have no idea why I've just been presented with "yo debo estudiar" as the correct answer against my "yo tengo estudiar". I can accept that i might have needed que but where does debo spring from?
what makes sense now? this issue is still unresolved... where did this debo come from when tengo means i have and estudiar means to study
