In the quiz question with the answers "We have to be patient with our teenage children.
We need to be patient with our teenage children."
As a native English speaker, I don't understand the distinction being made between these two options. They seem synonymous.
Hola R
Tener que and necesitar (and deber) are all Spanish verbs that convey obligation and needs. When we use haber de + infinitive we are also expressing need/obligation in a more formal way; this is why we included both options in the drop down menu to choose both.
If your doubt is more to do with the difference between tener que and deber in Spanish, you will most probably find in books that tener que is to do with external obligations and deber is more of a personal obligation. This is a very general concept/differentiation that not all natives see or believe is what happens in our experience as natives.
For me tener que pretty much covers all contexts and I never managed to see a clear line between the two: tener que and deber.
I'm not sure many English speakers can clearly explain the exact difference between must, have to, need either.
There is a video by a Spanish teacher explaining the differences between these three Spanish verbs and I completely agree with her vision. That is also my experience as a native Spanish speaker. The video is all in Spanish but she speaks really clearly. As I can see you are already on C1, you'll be able to understand most of it.
I hope it helps
Video diferencia entre tener que, deber y necesitar
Saludos
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