How to Say "had to" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “had to” is “tenía” — B1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
English → SpanishB1
VerbB1
obligation or necessity
Examples
Tenía que terminar mi tarea antes de salir.
I had to finish my homework before going out.
Llovía mucho, así que teníamos que cancelar el pícnic.
It was raining a lot, so we had to cancel the picnic.
The 'Have To' Formula
The formula is simple and powerful: 'tenía' (or another form of tener) + 'que' + the base form of a verb (like estudiar, comer, ir). It always works this way.
Forgetting 'que'
Mistake: “Tenía estudiar mucho.”
Correction: Tenía que estudiar mucho. The 'que' is essential; it's the bridge between 'tenía' and the action you had to do.
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