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SPANISH VERB

tener

to have

  • #3 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: teniendo
  • Past participle: tenido

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I have
  2. tú you have
  3. usted, él, ella he/she has
  4. nosotros we have
  5. vosotros Spain you all have
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they have

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I had
  2. tú you had
  3. usted, él, ella he/she had
  4. nosotros we had
  5. vosotros Spain you all had
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they had

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to have
  2. tú you used to have
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to have
  4. nosotros we used to have
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to have
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to have

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will have
  2. tú you will have
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will have
  4. nosotros we will have
  5. vosotros Spain you all will have
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will have

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would have
  2. tú you would have
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would have
  4. nosotros we would have
  5. vosotros Spain you all would have
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would have

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I have
  2. tú (that) you have
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she have
  4. nosotros (that) we have
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all have
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they have

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I had
  2. tú (if) you had
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she had
  4. nosotros (if) we had
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all had
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they had

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú have!
  2. usted have! (formal)
  3. nosotros have! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain have! (all of you)
  5. ustedes have! (all of you)

How to use tener

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Tengo dos hermanas y un hermano.

    I have two sisters and one brother.

  2. Past

    Tuvimos mucha suerte con el clima.

    We were very lucky with the weather.

  3. Imperfect

    Cuando tenía quince años, vivía en Puebla.

    When I was fifteen, I lived in Puebla.

  4. Future

    El año que viene tendremos más vacaciones.

    Next year we will have more vacation.

  5. Conditional

    Sin el mapa, tendríamos un problema serio.

    Without the map, we would have a serious problem.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Espero que tengan un buen viaje.

    I hope you all have a good trip.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si tuviera tiempo, aprendería a tocar guitarra.

    If I had time, I would learn to play guitar.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Ten cuidado con el escalón!

    Watch out for the step!

Good to know

  • Tener que with a verb is to have to: tengo que trabajar.
  • Age, hunger, thirst, heat and hurry take tener: tengo veinte años, tengo hambre.

Where you hear tener

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Tengo un hermano y una hermana. I have a brother and a sister.
  • Ayer tuve un día difícil. Yesterday I had a hard day.
  • Mañana voy a tener más tiempo. Tomorrow I'm going to have more time.

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Tengo hasta enero. I have until January.
  • No tenía paraguas. I didn't have an umbrella.
  • Vas a tener mucho trabajo. You're going to have a lot of work.
4
Do You Want a Coffee?

Beginner Level 1 · tienes

Needs a subscription 7
I'm Hungry

Beginner Level 1 · tengo

Needs a subscription 9
I Need a Phone Chip

Beginner Level 1 · no tengo

Needs a subscription 13
What Time Is It?

Beginner Level 1 · tenemos

Needs a subscription 18
Do You Have Brothers and Sisters?

Beginner Level 1 · Tengo

Needs a subscription 24
I'm Looking for a Present

Beginner Level 1 · la tiene

Needs a subscription 28
When Are You Leaving?

Beginner Level 1 · tenías

Needs a subscription 14
When I Was a Child

Beginner Level 2 · tenía · tenías · teníamos

Needs a subscription 17
Two Thousand Years Ago

Beginner Level 2 · tenían

Needs a subscription 25
Have You Ever Tried Them?

Beginner Level 2 · tenido

Needs a subscription 2
You Have to Lie Diagonally

Beginner Level 3 · tener cuidado

Free 3
What Will You Do?

Beginner Level 3 · tendré · tendrá · tendrás

Needs a subscription

And 42 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -er verb.