Verbs: Tener is a Must-Have Verb

There are a couple of ways to say have in Spanish. The only one that we have used so far is the one that we are going to be reviewing today: tener. Now many people say that tener looks nothing like any English words, but let’s think about this for a minute… When a verb ends in –er in Spanish then it is in its infinitive form, which is like the to before an infinitive verb in English. Let’s look at tener without its –er ending: ten-. This, by the way, is called the stem of the verb. So ten- is the stem for to have. Are there any words in English that have the ten (or –tain) sound and has something to do with to have? Brainstorm for a minute about English words with –tain and then read the next paragraph.

There are many, many English words with –tain in them and many of those words have some sort of connection to to have. Though we don’t talk about them having have in them, they are related. Here are a few with definitions that are slightly altered to make the point:

Con-tain            To have within

Ob-tain              To acquire possession (have)

Re-tain              To maintain possession (have)

Main-tain           To have in a particular state or condition

Sus-tain            To have in a way to prevent from falling (support)

Abs-tain            To have not or withhold

Hopefully this little exercise has helped you to see the connection between the Spanish verb tener and its existence in English. If you are interested in this evolution of language and the history of words, then etymology is a word that you should look up. We also hope that this little exercise with –tain will help you to remember always the meaning of today’s word of the day: Tener.

Tener (to have) was one of the first irregular verbs you learned in Spanish 1. The reason we call it an irregular verb is because it does not conjugate according to the regular pattern used for most verbs. Two strange things happen to it. First, it is a –go verb, meaning that the yo form doesn’t just add an ­–o but rather a –go. Second, it is a stem-changing verb. What that means is that the stem, Ten-, has a spelling change from e to ie in several of the forms. Observe:

VERB: TENER – To have

Yo

TENGO

Nosotros

TENEMOS

Tú

TIENES

Vosotros

TENÉIS

Él

TIENE

Ellos

TIENEN

Ella

TIENE

Ellas

TIENEN

Usted (Ud.)

TIENE

Ustedes (Uds.)

TIENEN

TENER FOR POSESSION

The verb tener, as we discussed, is used when we are telling somebody that we have possession of something.

Yo tengo dos bicicletas.                         Nosotros tenemos todos los libros.

I have two bicycles.                                We have all the books.

The verb tener is also used in other situations that may not sound right if we were to translate them directly to English. When was the last time, for example, that somebody said to you, “I have hunger.” You would know what that person means, but it’s simply not how we use to have in English.

TENER QUE – TO HAVE TO

There are several other uses of tener that may not seem normal for English speakers. Perhaps the most common of these is the tener que structure. This is very similar to have to in English. If you were to translate it directly into English, it may sound odd. Remember, though, that for a Spanish speaker to translate have to into Spanish it may sound equally odd to them. Let’s look at a few examples:

Sandra tiene que hablar con el director de la escuela.                                          Yo tengo que ir a la casa de mis primos.

Sandra has that to speak (has to speak) with the principal of the school.               I have that to go (I have to go) to the house of my cousins.

 TENER + NOUN

Besides being used to declare possession of something (physically having it) and besides using tener with que to talk about have to there is a third set of occasions that tener is the verb of choice. In these instances we are combining tener with certain nouns that would normally go with to be in English. There aren’t too many instances of this and we will review the main ones here:

Tener calor – To have hot or to be hot. Ella tiene calor y quiere nadar en la piscina. (She is hot and wants to swim in the pool.)

Tener frío – To have cold or to be cold. Yo tengo frío. Necesito un suéter. (I am cold. I need a sweater.)

Tener hambre – To have hunger or to be hungry. Mi amigo va a comer porque tiene hambre. (My friend is going to ear because he is hungry.)

Tener sed – To have thirst or to be thirsty. Hace calor hoy y tengo mucha sed. (It’s hot today and I have much thirst/I am very thirsty.)

Tener sueño – To have sleepiness or to be tired. El bebé tiene sueño. (The baby is tired.)

Tener miedo – To have fear or to be scared.

Tener miedo de when with a verb: Steven tiene miedo de hablar el español. (Steven is afraid of speaking Spanish.)

Tener miedo a when with a noun: Silvia y Marta tienen miedo a los perros. (Silvia and Marta are afraid of dogs.)

 PRACTICE WITH TENER

Read the following sentences out loud one time in Spanish. Then listen to the sentence one time by clicking the link next to it. Continue reading the sentence aloud until you can read it comfortably (no jerky hesitations). Once you are comfortable with reading it, go through the sentence in English and make sure that you understand what you are saying. Once you are sure of the meaning, read it one more time in Spanish. This will help your mind to make the connection between the Spanish words and the actual meaning of the sentence.

Yo tengo cuatro hermanas y también tengo un perro.

Nosotros tenemos una piñata y muchos globos para la fiesta.

Mariana tiene la cámara para sacar fotos de los monos y los pájaros en el parque nacional.

Los jóvenes tienen hambre y quieren ir a un restaurante.

Ellos no duermen mucho y ahora tienen sueño.

Yo tengo miedo a los serpientes (serpents/snakes).

¿Tienen ustedes mucho frío? Yo tengo calor.

Hace calor y nosotros tenemos sed. Queremos agua.

José no puede ir al cine. Él tiene que trabajar esta noche.

Guadalupe y su hermana tienen que visitar a su abuelo en el hospital.