Negation of “tener que”

Question

I'd like to clarify the meaning of the structure no tener que + verb.

Suppose I say the following:

No tengo que salir.

Which one of the following does the statement above mean?

1. I don't have to leave.

2. I have to not leave.

In the first situation, I am expressing that I don't have to leave meaning that I can stay if I wanted to, whereas in the second situation I am expressing that I have to stay.

In general, my question is which part gets negated, the "have to" or the "verb" that comes after?

Thanks.

Answer 1

"No tengo que salir" is ambiguous in Spanish.

It may mean lack of necessity or lack of obligation (I'd venture to say this meaning is more usual):

• I don't have/need to leave.

or negative obligation or prohibition:

• I mustn't leave.

Context will define the correct meaning:

Por suerte no tengo que salir. (Lack of obligation/necessity)

No tengo que salir bajo ningún concepto. (Prohibition)

For the prohibition meaning, other forms will be more usual:

• No debo salir.
• Está prohibido que salga.
• No me permiten salir.
• Tengo prohibido salir.
• No puedo salir. (Where "no puedo" means "I'm not allowed to". This sentence is also ambiguous, allowing for an incapacity meaning: "I'm unable to".)

Answer 2

Beginners will do fine learning the following two structures as negations of "Tengo que salir":

No [me] hace falta salir

This means I don't have to leave or There's no need to leave.

No hay que salir

This means I must not leave or I better not leave.