CEFR A2
What you will learn
- Separate obligation, permission and stated intention in a short plan.
- Keep absence of obligation distinct from prohibition.
- Report a general requirement without inventing a named responsible person.
Before you start
- Know the regular present, basic questions and noun agreement. Use the linked lessons for the forms needed here.
- Use familiar present forms; any past question in this page can use the already studied preterite or perfect.
The idea
Tener que plus infinitive assigns an obligation to a grammatical subject: “Tenemos que reservar”. Hay que plus infinitive presents a requirement without naming that subject: “Hay que reservar”. A general requirement may apply to a stated group, but the expression itself does not identify a particular person to do it. Poder plus infinitive can express ability or permission. The context on this page labels a rule that permits an action, so “puedes entrar” reports permission. It does not establish that the listener wants to enter or has decided to do so. Querer plus infinitive reports a wish or intention: “quiero entrar”.
No tener que expresses absence of necessity; no poder, in a rule explicitly about permission, expresses that the action is not allowed. “No tienes que traer comida” does not mean food is forbidden. Read which question is answered: must it happen, may it happen, or does the person want it?
A plan can change while its permissions and obligations remain unchanged. A person may want an action that is not allowed, or decline something optional. Keep each source of information separate: the rule supplies the obligation or permission, and the person’s statement supplies the intention. These tasks do not demand probability readings of modals or later subordinate moods.
Reference: form and meaning
| Meaning in the labelled context | Construction | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| named person’s obligation | tener que + infinitive | that the person wants the action |
| requirement without named actor | hay que + infinitive | a specific responsible person |
| permission under a stated rule | poder + infinitive | the person’s chosen plan |
| absence of obligation | no tener que + infinitive | prohibition |
| prohibition under a stated rule | no poder + infinitive | mere absence of obligation |
| stated wish or intention | querer + infinitive | permission or completion |
Poder also expresses ability in other contexts. Here each rule explicitly concerns what is allowed.
Complete present reference
| Person | tener que | poder | querer |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | tengo que | puedo | quiero |
| tú | tienes que | puedes | quieres |
| él / ella / usted | tiene que | puede | quiere |
| nosotros / nosotras | tenemos que | podemos | queremos |
| vosotros / vosotras | tenéis que | podéis | queréis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tienen que | pueden | quieren |
The infinitive remains unchanged after these first verbs. Hay que is impersonal and has no person paradigm.
How it sounds
- Hay que inscribirse. Celia puede asistir por internet.Registration is a requirement without a specified individual organiser. Online attendance is permitted, so it uses puede rather than a statement of desire. Celia’s preference remains unknown even though an online option is available.
Transfer 1A different case
P1. Museum rules: «Bags: the cloakroom is optional. Food: not allowed in the galleries. Photos: allowed without flash.» P2. Ana wants to eat her sandwich in the gallery. P3. Her friend’s summary says «Ana no tiene que comer en la sala». Write the Spanish summary again: what the rules say about Ana’s bag (dejar la mochila en el guardarropa) and about eating in the gallery, then add Ana’s wish.
P1. Library rules: «Library card (el carné): you do not need to show it to enter. Phones: calls are not allowed in the reading room. Wi-fi: free.» P2. Omar wants to make a call in the reading room. P3. A draft says «Omar no tiene que llamar en la sala de lectura». Write the Spanish summary again: the card rule for entering, the call rule and Omar’s wish.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Ana no tiene que dejar la mochila en el guardarropa. No puede comer en la sala, pero quiere comer allí.
Model answer: Ana no tiene que dejar la mochila en el guardarropa. No puede comer en la sala, pero quiere comer allí.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Presents the cloakroom as optional (absence of obligation), not as forbidden.
- Presents eating in the gallery as not allowed; «no tiene que comer» is rejected because it only removes an obligation.
- Reports Ana’s wish separately and does not let it change the rule; the photo rule may be omitted.
The cloakroom rule removes an obligation; the food rule forbids an action. The draft turns the ban into mere absence of obligation. Ana’s wish comes from her, not from the rules, and the photo rule is not needed.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Omar no tiene que enseñar el carné para entrar. No puede llamar en la sala de lectura, pero quiere llamar allí.
Model answer: Omar no tiene que enseñar el carné para entrar. No puede llamar en la sala de lectura, pero quiere llamar allí.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Keeps showing the card optional (no tener que); «enseñar» and «mostrar» are both valid; carné, carnet or credencial are accepted.
- Marks calls in the reading room as not allowed and keeps Omar’s wish as a separate fact.
Not having to show the card is absence of obligation; the call rule is a prohibition. Omar’s wish is reported separately; the wi-fi line is extra data.
Transfer 2A different case
P1. A notice says: «Visitors may reserve a seat online. Reservations are not compulsory.» P2. Luis says: «Prefiero estar de pie». P3. A friend reports: «Luis tiene que reservar porque puede reservar». Rewrite the report in Spanish in two or three sentences so that it keeps exactly what the notice says and what Luis says.
P1. A programme says: «Participants can join the guided tour. Joining is optional.» P2. Paula says: «Voy a explorar sola». P3. A report says: «Paula tiene que ir con el grupo porque puede ir». Rewrite the report in Spanish so that it keeps the programme and Paula’s plan.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Luis puede reservar un asiento, pero no tiene que hacerlo. No quiere reservar: prefiere estar de pie.
Model answer: Luis puede reservar un asiento, pero no tiene que hacerlo. No quiere reservar: prefiere estar de pie.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Reports reserving as allowed with poder and as not required (no tener que or an equivalent), never as forbidden.
- Takes Luis’s intention from his own words (no quiere / prefiere), not from the notice.
The notice gives a permission and removes an obligation; Luis’s preference shows that he does not want to reserve. Permission is not obligation, and neither establishes his intention.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Paula puede ir con el grupo, pero no tiene que ir. No quiere ir con el grupo: va a explorar sola.
Model answer: Paula puede ir con el grupo, pero no tiene que ir. No quiere ir con el grupo: va a explorar sola.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Reports joining as permitted and optional, without an obligation or a ban.
- Infers from «Voy a explorar sola» that Paula does not want to join, and keeps that as her decision.
Joining is permitted and optional; Paula’s plan shows that she does not want to join. The draft turns a permission into an obligation.
Transfer 3A different case
P1. A workshop sign says: «After the session: close the windows. The last person to leave turns off the lights.» P2. Julia is present; nobody knows yet who will leave last. P3. Write a Spanish message for the group noticeboard that states both requirements faithfully. Then say in English whether the sign establishes that Julia must turn off the lights.
P1. An office rule says: «At closing time: switch off the computers. The person on reception locks the door.» P2. Diego’s name is on today’s visitor list; the reception rota is not shown. P3. Write the rule for the office noticeboard in Spanish. Then assess in English whether the rule establishes that Diego must lock the door.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Después de la sesión, hay que cerrar las ventanas. La última persona en salir tiene que apagar las luces. Not established: we do not know that Julia will leave last.
Model answer: Después de la sesión, hay que cerrar las ventanas. La última persona en salir tiene que apagar las luces. Not established: we do not know that Julia will leave last.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- States the window requirement without naming a person (hay que; «tenemos que» for the whole group is also acceptable).
- Assigns the lights to the last person (la última persona / la última persona en salir) with tener que and does not transfer that role to Julia.
Closing the windows is a general requirement with no named person, so an impersonal requirement fits. The lights are assigned to whoever leaves last, a role, not to Julia.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Al cerrar, hay que apagar los ordenadores. La persona de recepción tiene que cerrar la puerta con llave. Not established: Diego is a visitor and the rota is missing.
Model answer: Al cerrar, hay que apagar los ordenadores. La persona de recepción tiene que cerrar la puerta con llave. Not established: Diego is a visitor and the rota is missing.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Uses an impersonal requirement for the computers; ordenadores and computadoras are both valid.
- Assigns locking to the reception role and does not infer it from Diego’s name on the visitor list.
Switching off the computers is a general requirement; locking the door is assigned to a role. A visitor list does not show who is on reception.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong No tienes que traer comida: la comida está prohibida.
Right No tienes que traer comida: no es obligatorio.
The absence of necessity does not forbid the action. A separate rule is needed to establish prohibition.
Transfer 4: combine the distinctions
P1. Plan for a class visit: «Marta reserves the room. Visitors can attend online. Printing the notes is not required. Food is not allowed in the room.» P2. Marta writes: «Me gustaría ir en persona». P3. A classmate’s summary for the visitors says: «Ustedes tienen que asistir por internet y no tienen que comer en la sala. Marta tiene que reservar la sala y tiene que ir en persona». Repair the summary in Spanish, addressing the visitors as ustedes: change only what is wrong, add the missing printing rule and keep Marta’s preference separate from the rules.
Answer available without interaction
- Turns online attendance into a permission and food into a prohibition for ustedes (pueden / no pueden).
- Adds that printing is not required (no tienen que), without turning it into a ban.
- Keeps Marta’s obligation to reserve unchanged and reports her in-person plan as a wish (quiere / le gustaría), not as an obligation or a permission.
Answer: Ustedes pueden asistir por internet. No tienen que imprimir los apuntes. No pueden comer en la sala. Marta tiene que reservar la sala y quiere ir en persona.
Two claims change force: online attendance is a permission, not an obligation, and food is banned, not merely optional. Marta’s booking is already right: the plan gives that task to her. «Tiene que ir en persona» turns her wish into an obligation;«Me gustaría» reports what she wants. The printing rule was missing.
Curriculum alignment and sources
- PCIC §12.1, A2 column: tener que, hay que and poder; Functions §3.8, A1 column, for wanting. The split into A2.2 and the sequence of tasks are editorial. · Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes: Gramática, inventario A1-A2
Continue along this corridor
Practise this: “Quiero”, “puedo”, “duermo”: verbs that change insideEssential irregular present forms for A1Future choices and conditional wishes