Severn Spanish

Tener I

 

Review

Make sure you know the conjugations of -er/-ir verbs and how stem-changing verbs work  (e to ie in particular).

 

Conjugation

Tener (to have), is considered an irregular form, but it actually has more in common with stem-changing verbs than with irregulars. Only the yo form is irregular -- the other forms follow the same pattern as e to ie stem-changers. Take a look:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Usage

The foremost use of tener is what you would think: to mean "to have."

Examples:

Yo tengo dos hermanos. (I have two brothers.)

Usted tiene un perro grande. (You have a big dog.)

Nosotros tenemos una casa nueva. (We have a new house.)

Ellos tienen la clase de ingles. (They have English class.)

However, there are a ton of other uses of tener that might not make literal sense in translation but that are really useful.

tener hambre -- to be hungry

Tú tienes hambre y quieres comer. (You are hungry and want to eat.)

tener sed -- to be thirsty

Elena tiene sed. Va a comprar un refresco. (Elena is thirsty. She's going to buy a soda.)

tener ___ años -- to be ___ years old

Mi abuelo tiene ochenta años. Él es muy viejo. (My grandfather is eighty years old. He is very old.)

tener prisa -- to be in a hurry

Marco tiene prisa. Necesita ir al trabajo. (Marco is in a hurry. He needs to go to work.)

tener miedo -- to be afraid

Usted tiene miedo de las serpientes. (You are afraid of snakes.)

tener ganas de -- to want to ___

Yo tengo ganas de comer. Voy a comprar una hamburguesa. (I want to eat. I'm going to buy a burger.)

tener razón -- to be right/correct

Tú tienes razón -- comer cinco galletas no es una idea buena. (You are right -- eating five cookies is not a good idea.)

tener que -- to have to (this is an important one that you will use a lot)

Tengo que lavar el coche. Está muy sucio ahora. (I have to wash the car. It is really dirty right now.)

Tú tienes que escribir el ensayo para la clase de ingles. (You have to write the essay for English class.)

 

Practice