Have to, may, must
English 'have to' splits in two here. Hay que plus the plain verb is a duty with nobody's name on it: hay que reservar la habitación. It has no person and cannot take one. Tener que is the duty of one person: tengo que hacer la maleta. For example: “Hay que enseñar el pasaporte en la frontera” — You have to show your passport at the border. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a…
How it works
English 'have to' splits in two here. Hay que plus the plain verb is a duty with nobody's name on it: hay que reservar la habitación. It has no person and cannot take one. Tener que is the duty of one person: tengo que hacer la maleta.
Deber is duty of conscience rather than of circumstance: debes pedir perdón. It sounds stern, so it stays rare. With a preposition the same verb changes job: debe de estar en la playa is 'he is probably at the beach'.
Poder covers both 'can' and 'may'. No puedo abrir la maleta is about me; no se puede is about everyone, and that is a ban.
All of them take the plain verb with no preposition between. Ir a is the one exception.
Table
| construction | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| hay que | needed by all, no person | hay que reservar |
| tener que | I have to, here and now | tengo que salir |
| deber | should, out of conscience | debes decir la verdad |
| deber de | probably, a guess | debe de estar en casa |
| poder | can, may | ¿puedo pasar? |
By example
- Hay que enseñar el pasaporte en la fronteraYou have to show your passport at the border
- Tengo que estar en el aeropuerto a las seisI have to be at the airport at six
- ¿Puedo pedir el menú del día?May I order the set lunch?
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Have to, may, must: how does it work in Spanish?
English 'have to' splits in two here. Hay que plus the plain verb is a duty with nobody's name on it: hay que reservar la habitación. It has no person and cannot take one. Tener que is the duty of one person: tengo que hacer la maleta.
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“Hay que enseñar el pasaporte en la frontera” — You have to show your passport at the border. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.