Tener ganas de/Tener que

 

In any given day, we might do a hundred different things, some of which are hobbies or fun activities that we choose to do, others of which are responsibilities or obligations that we do as part of a job or other commitment. As you just learned on the previous page, there are multiple ways to explain what you have to do. Likewise, there are many expressions to discuss what you like and want to do, many of which — with verbs like gustar, querer and preferir — you are already know. Another phrase that will allow you to talk about things you want to do is “tener ganas de“. Below you can see some contrasts between obligations and preferences with the expressions tener que + infinitive versus tener ganas de:

Play Audio Benito tiene que correr en las mañanas antes de la escuela.

A man running up hill

Foto: Martin Alvarez Espinar CC BY 2.0

Play Audio Rebeca y Carolina tienen que estudiar para el examen de economía.

two girls studying in library

Foto: MC Quinn CC BY 2.0

Play Audio Rodrigo y yo tenemos ganas de visitar Machu Picchu.

photo of Machu Picchu

Foto: James Wilson CC BY-SA 2.0

Play Audio Cristina siempre tiene ganas de esquiar en el invierno.

Person skiing downhill

Foto: Javier sastre CC BY-SA 2.0

Practice these grammatical constructions with the Quizlet flashcards below.

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Spanish I: Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Cover photo by Patrick McDonald, “La Gitana” is licensed under CC-BY-NC. Available on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pat_mcdonald/8518195036/.

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