How do you say, "you have to"?

Question

Guys, I was listening to a song about Christmas in Spanish. The singer said something like " You have to celebreate it with the bells" . I couldn't understand the word he used for " you have to ".Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks.

• Welcome to the forum.I corrected some punctuation/capitalization for you. - nizhoni1 Nov 10, 2009

Answer 1

Hi Smalleyes. Welcome to the forum.

What you heard could be either --

1) Tiene que celebrar....

2) Hay que celebrar....

Answer 2

tener + que + infinitivo (celebar)

hay+ que + infinitivo

These are two possibilities that I can think of.

Answer 3

thanks a lot guillermo and marianne! its " hay que festejar" .... muchas gracias!

• I'm glad we could help! - --Mariana-- Nov 10, 2009

Answer 4

thanks a lot luzhon89! ....wow, this place is awesome to learn...thanks guys..

Answer 5

Can you post what you think you've heard. That will help to make a guess.

Answer 6

Marianne, you are probably right. If the song is "jingle bells" I'm sure is "hay que celebrar".

• Now I will go look up the song in Spanish. jejeje - --Mariana-- Nov 10, 2009
• thanks! :) i am having problems with the lyrics after that part! :( - smalleye86 Nov 10, 2009

Answer 7

Here is the closest translation I could find of the Spanish version I know for Jingle Bells.

Answer 8

Does deber + an infinitive also work?

As in: Debo ir al banco esta mañana. Debe tomar un vaso grande de aqua.