What does tienes que mean

Question

What does tienes que mean in a sentence?

Answer 1

Para que aprender español tienes que estudiar. In order to learn spanish you have to study. Tienes que = you have to in the familiar form. Tiene que = he/she has to etc.

Answer 2

You must ..

..

or

You have to ....

Answer 3

The use/application of tener que compared with hay que

I feel it is necessary to add that tener que = you must is more emphatic
than hay que = to be necessary, whereas hay que is less personal and so people are less inclined to get offended if you use hay que as it sounds less like a command:

for example: tienes que ...hacer las compras/ir de compras

= You have to do the shopping

hay que hacer las compras

= The shopping needs to be done/it is necessary to do the shopping

I am open to correction on this

sounds about right to me :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 15, 2010

Gracias, Marie Claire :) - FELIZ77, Jul 15, 2010

Answer 4

Tener que = personal obligation where as hay que = necessary to e.g. Para llegar a mi casa hay que coger el autobús numero 7. To get to mi house you or one needs to catch the number 7 bus.