46.2 Enquiring whether one is obliged to do something
To enquire whether one is obliged to do something, Spanish normally uses the
construction tener que+ infinitive (see 46.1.1 above).
¿Tengo que hacerlo?
Do I have to do it?
¿Tenemos que devolverlo hoy?
Do we have to return it today?
¿Tendrás que volver?
Will you have to come back?46.3 Expressing obligation in an impersonal way
Obligation is sometimes expressed in an impersonal way, without reference to a specific
person. The verb most frequently associated with this use is hay que, ‘one has to’,
‘one must’. Hay is an impersonal, irregular form of the present indicative of haber.
In other tenses, use the third person singular of haber: había que, ‘one/we had to’,
hubo que, ‘one/we had to’, habrá que, ‘one/we will have to’, habría que, ‘one/we
would have to’. 16.1.1.7 (p. 62)
Para ir a Egipto hay que tener visado/visa (L.Am.).
To go to Egypt, one has to/must have a visa.
Primero hay que pasar por la aduana.
First one has to/must go through customs.
Hubo que pagar derechos de aduana.
We had to pay customs duties.
Habrá que coger/tomar un taxi.
We’ll have to take a taxi.
Habría que alquilar un coche/carro (L.Am.).
We would have to hire a car.46.4 Other ways of expressing obligation and duty
Obligation and duty are also expressed through the following constructions:
estar or verse obligado a‘to have to’, ‘to be obliged to’
verse en la obligación de‘to have to’, ‘to be forced to’, ‘to be obliged to’
tener (la) obligación de‘to have to’, ‘to be under an obligation to’Estás obligado a hacerlo.
You have to do it.
Me vi obligado a decírselo.
I had to tell him/her.EXPRESSING OBLIGATION AND DUTY 46.2