ter que – to have to, in Portuguese

By James Hall / / (2) Beginning Portuguese
ter que, to have to in Portuguese
You have to do this, you have to do that.

This is a must-know! The good news: It's easy to express to have to in Portuguese. The key is knowing how to conjugate the verb TER.

ter to have
I have eu tenh o
you/he/she has você/ele/ela tem

In Portuguese, you add a que to the TER to make: to have to: ter que.. There is no exception to this - it's a rule. Here's how to say "I have to..." :

(Eu) Tenho que trabalhar hoje. > I have to work today.
Tenho que ir. > I have to go.

And in the future it's:

(Eu) Vou ter que viajar na semana que vem. > I have to travel next week.

If it already occurred:

(Eu) Tive que fazer tudo de novo. > I had to do everything again.

Saying "You have to do this and that" or, "One has to..." is also NO BIG DEAL:

Você tem que pagar antes de entrar. > You have to pay before entering.
Você vai ter que gastar muito! > You're going to have to spend a lot!
Você teve que sair cedo? > Did you have to leave early?

As usual, there are OTHER WAYS to say the same thing! The verb PRECISAR (to need) as well as DEVER (to owe, must) are other good options:

Eu preciso ir agora. > I have to go now.
Devo falar com ela amanhã. > I ought to speak with here tommorrow.