Why do you say tengo que irme (I have that to go-myself) for I have to go?
The answer isn’t the translation — it’s the middle layer, where English word order is rearranged into Spanish logic before a single word is swapped.
The thought · English
I have to go.
The structure · English in Spanish logic
I-have that to-go-myself.
The Spanish
Tengo que irme.
The rule
Obligation in Spanish is “tener que + infinitive” — literally “to have that (to do something).” The “que” is the structural hinge English skips. And “irse” (to leave/go away) is reflexive, so the pronoun “me” attaches to the infinitive: “irme.” Compare “hay que” (one must, impersonal) vs “tengo que” (I, specifically, must).
Reading the structure is step one. Feeling it is the moat — watch the words physically rearrange, then say your own sentence and the bartender answers.
Restructure “Tengo que irme.” live →