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“Tienes QUE hablar despacio”??

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themostllama
August 28, 2021, 12:38 PM
“Tienes que hablar despacio”

Please help me understand what this “que” is doing here? I’m a little confused cause I know “tienes” as “you have” and “hablar” as “to speak.” I only know “que” as “that” or “than.”
I understand Spanish to English is obviously not always word-for-word but if someone can help me understand the logic so I know when to use it in these cases. I would appreciate it. Muchas gracias mís amigos

Rusty
August 28, 2021, 05:28 PM
tener que = must do something
(the something that must be done is supplied by the infinitive which follows)

"Hablar" is a Spanish infinitive. This is not equivalent to the English full infinitive, which is preceded by the word 'to'. So, even though textbooks and teachers may say that hablar means 'to speak,' they are using the full infinitive so we understand the role it plays in that case. The Spanish infinitive has no implied 'to,' in other words.