tener: to have
to have · to have got · to own · to hold or keep · to be, for age and certain states · to have to, with que · gerund teniendo · participle tenido · irregular
Tener is one of the most frequent Spanish verbs. It covers possession, age, sensations, obligations and a long list of everyday expressions, so learners meet forms such as tengo, tienes and tenemos very early. Several of its most useful tenses are irregular, but they fall into a small number of recurring patterns.
Conjugation
Present irregular
presente
| yo | tengoI have |
|---|---|
| tú | tienesyou have |
| él / ella / usted | tienehe / she / it hasyou (formal) have |
| nosotros / nosotras | tenemoswe have |
| vosotros / vosotras | tenéisyou all have |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tienenthey haveyou all (formal) have |
Preterite irregular
pretérito indefinido
| yo | tuveI had |
|---|---|
| tú | tuvisteyou had |
| él / ella / usted | tuvohe / she / it hadyou (formal) had |
| nosotros / nosotras | tuvimoswe had |
| vosotros / vosotras | tuvisteisyou all had |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tuvieronthey hadyou all (formal) had |
Imperfect
pretérito imperfecto
| yo | teníaI used to have |
|---|---|
| tú | teníasyou used to have |
| él / ella / usted | teníahe / she / it used to haveyou (formal) used to have |
| nosotros / nosotras | teníamoswe used to have |
| vosotros / vosotras | teníaisyou all used to have |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | teníanthey used to haveyou all (formal) used to have |
Future irregular
futuro simple
| yo | tendréI will have |
|---|---|
| tú | tendrásyou will have |
| él / ella / usted | tendráhe / she / it will haveyou (formal) will have |
| nosotros / nosotras | tendremoswe will have |
| vosotros / vosotras | tendréisyou all will have |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tendránthey will haveyou all (formal) will have |
Conditional irregular
condicional simple
| yo | tendríaI would have |
|---|---|
| tú | tendríasyou would have |
| él / ella / usted | tendríahe / she / it would haveyou (formal) would have |
| nosotros / nosotras | tendríamoswe would have |
| vosotros / vosotras | tendríaisyou all would have |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tendríanthey would haveyou all (formal) would have |
What's irregular, and how to remember it
- Present indicative
- The first person singular is the whole irregular form tengo. In the other stressed stem forms, e changes to ie: learn tengo and tienes as the two anchors. There is no stem change in nosotros or vosotros, where the ending carries the stress.
- Present subjunctive and negative imperative
- The present subjunctive uses teng- throughout, following the g of tengo: tenga, tengamos and the other forms follow the same pattern. The negative imperative uses these subjunctive forms.
- Preterite and related subjunctive tenses
- The preterite changes to the strong stem tuv-, as in tuve and tuvieron, and its endings have no written accents. Both imperfect subjunctive sets, tuviera and tuviese, come from this preterite family. The rare future subjunctive does too, as in tuviere.
- Future and conditional
- Both tenses replace the infinitive stem tener- with tendr- before taking their usual endings. Learn tendré and tendría, then keep the same stem for every person.
- Affirmative imperative
- The familiar singular command is the short irregular form ten. The familiar plural command tened is regular, while the usted, nosotros and ustedes commands use the present subjunctive forms.
Possession, relationships and features
Use tener for possession, family relationships and features: Tengo las llaves means “I’ve got the keys”, and Lucía tiene dos hermanas means “Lucía has two sisters”.
The subject can also be a thing: El piso tiene balcón means “The flat has a balcony”. Unlike hay, which says that something exists, tener connects it to a particular person or thing.
Age
Spanish expresses age with tener + number + años, where English uses “to be”: Tengo treinta años means “I’m thirty”, and ¿Cuántos años tienes? means “How old are you?”
For one year, use the singular: El niño tiene un año means “The child is one year old”.
Sensations and personal states
Many physical sensations and personal states use tener + noun: Tengo hambre means ‘I’m hungry’, Tenemos sueño means ‘We’re sleepy’, and Carmen tiene miedo means ‘Carmen is afraid’.
Other common nouns in this pattern include sed, frío, calor, prisa, razón and suerte. They normally appear without an article.
Obligation with tener que
Use a conjugated form of tener, followed by que and an infinitive, for an obligation or necessity: Tengo que trabajar means “I have to work”.
Only tener is conjugated; the following verb stays in the infinitive: Tenemos que irnos means ‘We have to leave’, and Tendrás que esperar means ‘You’ll have to wait’. With a reflexive verb, the pronoun still matches the subject, as in tengo que irme and tenemos que irnos.
Appointments and commitments
Use tener for appointments, lessons, meetings and other commitments: Mañana tengo una cita con el médico means “I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow”, and Tenemos clase a las diez means “We have a class at ten”.
Having something ready or completed
Tener + past participle can describe a resulting state: Ya tengo preparada la cena means “I’ve already got dinner ready”, and Tenemos reservadas dos habitaciones means “We have two rooms booked”.
The participle agrees with the object in this construction, so preparada agrees with la cena and reservadas with dos habitaciones.
Expressions with tener
- tener ganas deto feel like, to fancy
- Tengo ganas de dar un paseo.I feel like going for a walk.
- tener en cuentato bear in mind, to take into account
- Ten en cuenta que mañana es festivo.Bear in mind that tomorrow is a public holiday.
- tener lugarto take place
- La reunión tendrá lugar en el salón principal.The meeting will take place in the main hall.
- tener que ver conto have to do with
- Esto no tiene nada que ver con el trabajo.This has nothing to do with work.
- tener cuidadoto be careful, to take care
- Ten cuidado con el escalón.Be careful with the step.
- tener razónto be right
- Carmen tenía razón: el museo estaba cerrado.Carmen was right: the museum was closed.
- tener prisato be in a hurry
- No tengo prisa; podemos ir andando.I’m not in a hurry; we can walk.
- tener suerteto be lucky
- Tuvimos suerte y encontramos mesa.We were lucky and found a table.
- ¿Qué tienes?What’s wrong? What is it?
- Te noto preocupado. ¿Qué tienes?You seem worried. What’s wrong?
Usage notes
- •English uses “to be” for age, hunger, thirst, heat, cold and several other states where Spanish uses tener: say tengo treinta años and tengo hambre, not soy treinta años or estoy hambre.
- •To say that you feel hot, use tengo calor. Use estar caliente for something that is hot to the touch. Said about a person, especially Estoy caliente, it commonly means ‘I’m sexually aroused’.
- •State nouns such as hambre, sed, miedo and prisa normally have no article after tener. An article can appear when the noun is qualified, as in Tengo un hambre terrible.
- •For “have to”, keep que: Tengo que salir. Do not use tener de in this construction.
- •English “have” can also be an auxiliary, but Spanish perfect tenses use haber: “I have eaten” is he comido, not tengo comido. Tener + participle instead stresses a resulting state, as in Tengo preparada la cena.
- •The preterite often presents having something as a completed event, as in Tuve un problema ayer. The imperfect presents possession or a state as ongoing background, as in Cuando era estudiante, tenía poco dinero.
- •Spanish usually drops the subject pronoun because the verb form and the context normally make clear who the subject is: Tengo tiempo is more neutral than Yo tengo tiempo unless ‘I’ is being contrasted with someone else. The ending alone does not always distinguish the subject: tiene, for example, can go with él, ella or usted.
- •For familiar plural “you”, use tenéis in the present and tened for an affirmative command.
- •The gerund teniendo and participle tenido are regular. Compound tenses use the appropriate form of haber followed by tenido.
Practice
1. Present forms
Choose the correct present form of tener.
1.Lucía dos hermanos.
2.¿Vosotros hambre?
3.Yo una cita a las cinco.
2. Everyday uses
Fill each gap with the correct present indicative form of tener.
1.Hablando con un amigo: ¿Cuántos años ?
2.Use the yo form: Ahora no puedo salir: que terminar esto.
3.Marta no ha comido y hambre.
3. Past, conditional and subjunctive forms
Complete each sentence with the required irregular form.
1.Use the first-person singular preterite of tener: Ayer un problema con el tren.
2.Use the first-person singular conditional of tener: Si trabajara menos, más tiempo.
3.Use the present subjunctive of tener: Espero que vosotros suerte.
4. Commands and expressions
Translate each line using the expression with tener.
1.Be careful. Address one friend.
2.Translate using the future of tener: The meeting will take place tomorrow.
3.Translate with tener: I feel like going out.
Grammar it touches: Masculine and feminine: gender and agreement · Tú, usted, vosotros and ustedes · Subject pronouns, and why Spanish drops them · The present tense · Ser vs estar · Hay vs está vs están · Articles: el, la, un, una · The present perfect: he hablado · The preterite: hablé · The imperfect: hablaba · Preterite vs imperfect · The future tense · The conditional · Commands: the imperative · The present subjunctive · The imperfect subjunctive
Revised 26 October 2026