10.5 The Verb Tener
The Verb Tener
The verb tener (to have) is an irregular verb in the present tense. It is generally used to talk about possession, age, and obligations.
Singular
| Person | Español | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | Yo tengo | I have |
| 2nd person | Tú tienes | You have |
| 3rd person | Él tiene | He/it has |
| Ella tiene | She/it has | |
| Usted tiene | You (formal) have |
Plural
| Person | Español | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | Nosotros tenemos | We have |
| 2nd person | Vosotros tenéis | You have (informal, Spain) |
| 3rd person | Ellos tienen | They (masc.) have |
| Ellas tienen | They (fem.) have | |
| Ustedes tienen | You have |
Uses of Tener:
Possession
Similar to English, the verb tener can be used to indicate possession:
tener + posesión
Ejemplo: Yo tengo una bicicleta roja. I have a red bicycle.
Age
Unlike English, in Spanish tener is used to express age (edad). To form the phrase, you must include the word años (years) after the age of the subject:
tener + edad + años
Ejemplo: Tú tienes veinticinco años. You are twenty-five years old.
Obligation
You can also express an obligation with tener, which is similar to the English “to have to…”. Make sure that you include the word que, followed by an infinitive verb to form the phrase:
tener + que + infinitivo
Ejemplo: Nosotros tenemos que estudiar para el examen. We have to study for the exam.
This section includes content derived from Introduction to French (2nd ed.), originally released under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 and Liberté, originally released under CC BY-NC-SA.
