How do I express obligation in Spanish?

Question

For example, "tengo que."

Movcd the question to different category. - Zoltán, Nov 20, 2009

Answer 1

There are a few ways of expressing obligations.

There is, as you said, "tener que + " deber + " as Marianne said, and "Necesito + " as ElCantate said.

The only one I can imagine that is left off from here is "hay que + " which means that someone should do something. Por ejemplo:

Hay que limpiar los platos. - Someone should wash the dishes.

You would use this expression when you want to imply that something needs to be done but you don't want to be the one to do it.

I do believe lesson 1.13 "Chores and Basic Commands" covers a bit of this.

Answer 2

I actually got this answer for watching a movie.

To say "I need to speak with you" they said "Necesito hablar contigo"

So, you literally would say I need (Necesito) before the verb, which you then leave unconjugated.

Likewise, you can say "Necesito ir" or "Necesito ayudar", or just about anything else you feel obligated to say

Answer 3

Hi Sheba. Welcome to the forum. Please remember to use proper capitalization and punctuation in your posts.

As for your question, how about "deber," for example "debo leerlo" (I should read it).