Portuguese · Chapter 3 · Lesson 20 · Grammar primer
Have to: tenho que
Ter que for what you have to do, precisar for what you need, and dever for what you should. Three verbs you already know, one new job each.
The short version
In Brazil, have to is ter que
Conjugate ter, add que, then the verb you have to do, unchanged: tenho que, tem que, temos que, têm que. Brazilians say ter que in speech and most writing. Ter de means the same and is the usual form in Portugal, so recognise it but say ter que.
Tenho que trabalhar hoje.
Não deve is not the same as não tem que
Não tenho que and não precisa mean there is no need: you are free either way. Não deve means you should not. English must not and don't have to are opposites, and so are these. Não precisa is also the polite way to turn down an offer of help.
Não precisa, obrigado.
That's the gist. The full article goes deeper - more examples, the edge cases, the why - and the practice below scores like a vocabulary session and earns the same XP.
Read the full article · 4 min readPractice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end. There are 16 in all: practise more afterwards if you want them.
Portuguese · Free printables
Worksheets for this lesson
Worksheets with answer keys built in. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekLesson 20 of 23 in this chapter