In today’s lesson, you will learn 6 ways to use Tener (to have) in Spanish. This verb is important, not only because it is such a basic and often-used verb, but also because of its many uses. Moreover, in this lesson, you will learn its conjugation, and you will find interactive exercises at the end.
6 Ways to use Tener (to have) in Spanish
YouTube Lesson
6 Ways to use Tener (to have) in Spanish
1. “Tener” to talk about age
In English, we use the verb to be to show age: I am twenty-four years old.
In Spanish, however, one has years: Tengo veinticuatro años.
When asking the age of someone (or something), you literally will ask how many years (or months, days, etc.) he, she, or it has:
2. “Tener” to talk about possessions or belongings
The simplest and most common use of tener is to show possession.
This one works the same as in English, to speak about things you have, you own, your belongings, pertenencias.
3. “Tener” with several expressions about states or needs
There are several phrases in Spanish that use “tener” where in English we use the verb “to be“.
For example, instead of being hungry (an adjective), one has hunger (a noun). Below there is an infographic with the most common of these expressions.
Would you like to practice this content through a conversation class with me?
4. “Tener” to talk about illnesses or sickness
Quite similar to the way we express in English, too.
Do you want to know more about sickness in Spanish? Check out:
“How to express pain in Spanish”
5. “Tener” to express obligations and needs
In order to show obligation or needs in Spanish, we will use the following recipe
Tener (conjugated) + que + (verb in infinitive)
Tengo que ir al dentista, I have to go to the dentist
This expression can be translated as “someone has to do something.”
Tener is conjugated according to the subject of the sentence.
6. “Tener” to express “I feel like…”
To express “you feel like something” in Spanish we say “tener ganas de…”
EXAMPLES
Tengo ganas de helado – I am feeling like an ice cream
Tengo ganas de comida mexicana – I am feeling like having mexican food
But when we feel like a verb, in English we use the gerund (verb+ ing) in Spanish we use the infinitive instead.
EXAMPLE
Tengo ganas de ir al cine – I feel like going to the cinema
6 ways to use Tener (to have) in Spanish
TENER: the conjugation (present tense)
Tener is an irregular verb, which means that its conjugations don’t follow a common pattern. Since we use this verb a lot in Spanish, it’s a good idea to practice the present tense conjugations so you can use them quickly.
If you click here, you can see all the verb conjugations of tener in the different forms.
6 ways to use Tener (to have) in Spanish
Interactive Exercises
EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3
6 ways to use tener (to have) in Spanish
DOWNLOADABLE INFOGRAPHICS: EL VERBO TENER
PDF document of 2 pages
