How to use the verb 'to have' in Spanish.
In Spanish, the verb 鈥榯o have鈥 (tener) is very useful.
滨迟鈥檚 tengo - I have
tienes - you have
tiene - he/she/it has
Tengo un port谩til - I have a laptop.
T煤 tienes un port谩til - You have a laptop.
Mi primo tiene pecas - My cousin has freckles.
There are some phrases in English where you would say 'I am' but in Spanish you would say 鈥業 have鈥:
Tengo calor or tengo fr铆o,
And in phrases like tengo sue帽o (鈥業鈥檓 tired鈥) or tengo hambre (鈥業鈥檓 hungry鈥).
Just like for any verb, you can put no in front of it to make it negative.
No tengo hambre (鈥業鈥檓 not hungry鈥) or no tengo sue帽o (鈥業鈥檓 not tired鈥).
You use it to say how old someone or something is.
Tengo diecisiete a帽os - I am seventeen years old.
Remember, when you鈥檙e talking about someone else tengo becomes tiene.
Mi madrastra tiene cuarenta a帽os - My step-mum is forty years old.
If you want to say you have to do something, you put que after the verb tener.
I have to - tengo que.
Tengo que hacer mis deberes - I have to do my homework.
'Tener' - to have
Tener (to have) is used to show possession or to say what you have.
For example:
Tengo una madre y dos hermanos - I have a mum and two brothers.
驴Tienes pecas? - Do you have freckles?
Mi hermano tiene un perro negro y un conejo blanco - My brother has a black dog and a white rabbit.
Put no in front of the verb to say that you 诲辞苍鈥檛 have something.
For example:
- No tengo un bol铆grafo azul - I 诲辞苍鈥檛 have a blue pen.
Use the different parts of the verb tener in the table to say what you, other people or things have or 诲辞苍鈥檛 have.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| tengo | I have |
| tienes | you have |
| tiene | he/she/it has |
Using 'tener' for age
In Spanish you use tener to talk about your age, unlike in English which doesn鈥檛 use the verb 鈥榯o have鈥 but the verb 鈥榯o be鈥.
For example:
驴Cu谩ntos a帽os tienes? - How old are you?
Tengo doce a帽os - I am 12 (years old).
Other uses of 'tener'
Tener is also used for some other phrases.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| tengo sue帽o | I am sleepy |
| tengo sed | I am thirsty |
| tengo hambre | I am hungry |
| tengo calor | I am hot |
| tengo fr铆o | I am cold |
For example:
驴Tienes hambre? - Are you hungry?
No, no tengo hambre, pero tengo sed - No, I am not hungry, but I am thirsty.
Tengo fr铆o, voy a ponerme un jersey - I am cold, I am going to put a jumper on.
Mi hermana tiene sue帽o - My sister is sleepy.
'Tener' in the past
To talk about the past, the imperfect tense of tener is really useful. It helps you talk about things you used to have or how old you used to be.
For example:
- Cuando 迟别苍铆补 diez a帽os, 迟别苍铆补 un perro - When I was ten years old, I had a dog.
Can you use different parts of the verb tener in the imperfect to say what you, someone else or something used to have?
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| 迟别苍铆补 | I had |
| 迟别苍铆补s | you had |
| 迟别苍铆补 | he/she/it had |
'Tener' in the future
Use tener in the immediate future to say what you are going to have or what you are going to be, if you are using tener to mean 'to be' in English.
For example:
- 隆Voy a tener una hermanita! - I am going to have a little sister.
- Vas a tener muchos amigos en el colegio nuevo - You are going to have many friends in your new school.
- 惭补帽补苍补 va a tener hambre - Tomorrow he is going to be hungry.
- Vas a tener calor porque hace sol - You are going to be hot because it is sunny.
Can you use different parts of the verb tener to say what you, someone else or something is going to have?
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| voy a tener | I am going to have |
| vas a tener | you are going to have |
| va a tener | he/she/it is going to have |
Have go at this activity to check your understanding of the verb 'to have'.
Quiz
Find out how much you know about the verb 'to have' in Spanish with this short quiz!
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