Spanish for beginners 4

Spanish verb necesitar is similar to English to need:

Necesito unos zapatos nuevos – I need new shoes
Necesito comprarme unos zapatos – I need to buy me shoes
Voy al supermercado, ¿necesitas algo? – I´m going to the supermarket, do you need something?

However, necesitar should be used only if you need something urgently. Normally Spanish will use instead tener que + infinitivo:

Tengo que comprarme unos zapatos = I need to buy me shoes

Tener que + infinitivo, unlike necesitar, is pretty more universal, it could be used for advices, orders, suggestions, etc... It could be translated as must, to have to, should...

Hijo, ¡tienes que recoger los juguetes! (nunca *necesitas recoger los juguetes) – You must gather up your toys!
Si quieres salir con Ana, tienes que invitarla al cine (nunca *necesitas invitarla al cine) – If you want to go out with Ann, you should invite her to the cinema

Let´s imagine a couple. The girl is very independant and can pass weeks without seeing her boyfriend. The boy suffers. One day, the girl´s mother says to her:

Tienes que llamar a Andrés – You should call Andrew

She can´t tell her *necesitas llamar a Andrés because it´s not true! The girl doesn´t need him. "Tienes que" is an advice, while "necesitas" is a fact.

The construction hay que + infinitivo is used when there are things to do. We often use it to camuflate our petitions, like in:

Hay que comprar pan = Tenemos que comprar pan. ¿Quién va a ir? A mí no me apetece mucho...
Hay que cerrar la puerta = ¿Por qué no cierras la puerta tú?