The verb TENER is an irregular
verb in the present, past and future tenses. TENER means to have; however,
when it is used in certain phrases, it also means to be.
CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TENER
IN THE PRESENT TENSE:
LISTEN
Yo tengo Tú tienes Él/ella
tiene Usted tiene Nosotros(as) tenemos Ellos/ellas tienen Ustedes tienen
I have You have (informal) He/she
has You have (formal) We have They have You all have (formal)
Note that the endings of the verb TENER
are the same as those of a regular -ER verb.
USES OF THE
VERB TENER:
TENER is used
to talk about what you have.
Yo tengo una casa grande Marcos tiene un
carro azul
I have a big house. Marcos has a blue car.
TENER is used to talk
about the features a person has.
El chico tiene pelo negro Las chicas tienen
ojos azules
The boy has black hair The girls have blue
eyes
TENER is used to express
how old a person is.
María Isabel tiene dieciocho años Ustedes tienen catorce años
María Isabel is eighteen years old You all
are fourteen years old
TENER is also
used to describe how you feel:
Tener calorto be hot Tener fríoto be
cold Tener miedoto be afraid Tener sueñoto be sleepy Tener cuidado to be careful Tener
prisato be in a hurry Tener suerte
to be lucky
El bebé tiene sueño Los hermanos tienen prisa
Other uses of TENER
Tener hambre Tener sed
Los jugadores de fútbol tienen sed Yo tengo hambre
The baby is sleepy. The brothers are in a hurry.
To be hungry To be thirsty
The soccer players are thirsty. I am hungry.
The expression TENER QUE
+ infinitive are used to say that something has to be done. Infinitive is the form of the verb that ends
in -AR, -ER, or -IR.
Carlos tiene que comprar
un regalo Yo tengo que escribir un poema
