Tener is one of the most common verbs in Spanish, and it is essential for understanding and speaking the language fluently. In this post, we will learn how to conjugate Tener in all tenses and forms. We will also provide some tips on how to use Tener in Spanish sentences.
By the end of this post, you will be able to:
- Conjugate Tener in the present, past, future, and conditional tenses.
- Use Tener in different sentence structures.
- Understand the different meanings of Tener.
How to Conjugate Tener
The verb Tener means ‘to have’. Beyond this literal meaning the verb Tener is commonly used as a state of being in Spanish. There are several expressions that are not used in English but are very common in Spanish.
| English | Spanish | tener Conjugation |
| I have | Yo | tengo |
| You have | tú | tienes |
| He/she/you (formal) has/have | Él/Ella/Usted | tiene |
| We have | Nosotros/Nosotras | tenemos |
| You (Spain) have | Vosotros/Vosotras | tenéis |
| They/They/You have | Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | tienen |
For instance, the phrase tener hambre means ‘to have hunger’. We do not use this phrase in English but it is widely used in Spanish. Yes, you have guessed it right. The phrase tener hambre actually means ‘to be hungry’.
Now, let us explore some of the examples to understand the use of verb Tener:
- Tener sed (To be thirsty)
- Tener sueño (To be sleepy)
- Tener miedo (To be afraid)
- Tener vergüenza (To be embarrassed)
Tener conjugation video lesson
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As we have discussed earlier that Tener is an irregular verb. This means that Tener does not follow the same rules or pattern as that of regular ar er and ir verbs. In order to master the conjugation of the verb Tener, we have to take into consideration all of its irregularities.
Let’s move towards proper conjugation of Tener. We will explore both simple and compound Spanish tenses in this guide.
Conjugating Simple Tenses
tener Present tense conjugation
yo tengo | I have |
tú tienes | you have |
él/ella/usted tiene | he/she has |
nosotros/nosotras tenemos | we have |
vosotros/vosotras tenéis | you (plural) have |
ellos/ellas tienen | they have |
tener Imperfect Tense Conjugation
|
yo tenía |
I had |
|
tú tenías |
you had |
|
él/ella/usted tenía |
he/she/you (formal) had |
|
nosotros/nosotras teníamos |
we had |
|
vosotros/vosotras teníais |
you (plural) had |
|
ellos/ellas tenían |
they had |
tener Future Tense Conjugation
|
yo tendré |
I will have |
|
tú tendrás |
you will have |
|
él/ella/usted tendrá |
he/she/you (formal) will have |
|
nosotros/nosotras tendremos |
we will have |
|
vosotros/vosotras tendréis |
you (plural) will have |
|
ellos/ellas tendrán |
they will have |
tener Conditional Tense Conjugation
|
yo tendría |
I would have |
|
tú tendrías |
you would have |
|
él/ella/usted tendría |
he/she/you (formal) would have |
|
nosotros/nosotras tendríamos |
we would have |
|
vosotros/vosotras tendríais |
you (plural) would have |
|
ellos/ellas tendrán |
they would have |
Conjugating Compound Tenses
tener Present Perfect Tense Conjugation
|
yo he tenido |
I have had |
|
tú has tenido |
you have had |
|
él/ella/usted ha tenido |
he/she has had |
|
nosotros/nosotras hemos tenido |
we have had |
|
vosotros/vosotras habéis tenido |
you (plural) have had |
|
ellos/ellas han tenido |
they have had |
tener Pluperfect Tense Conjugation
|
yo había tenido |
I had had |
|
tú habías tenido |
you had had |
|
él/ella/usted había tenido |
he/she/you (formal) had had |
|
nosotros/nosotras habíamos tenido |
we had had |
|
vosotros/vosotras habíais tenido |
you (plural) had had |
|
ellos/ellas habían tenido |
they had had |
tener Preterite Perfect Tense Conjugation
|
yo hube tenido |
I had had |
|
tú hubiste tenido |
you had had |
|
él/ella/usted hubo tenido |
he/she/you (formal) had had |
|
nosotros/nosotras hubimos tenido |
we had had |
|
vosotros/vosotras hubisteis tenido |
you (plural) had had |
|
ellos/ellas habían tenido |
they had had |
tener Future Perfect Tense Conjugation
|
yo habré tenido |
I will have had |
|
tú habrás tenido |
you will have had |
|
él/ella/usted habrá tenido |
he/she/you (formal) will have had |
|
nosotros/nosotras habremos tenido |
we will have had |
|
vosotros/vosotras habréis tenido |
you (plural) will have had |
|
ellos/ellas habrán tenido |
they will have had |
tener Conditional Perfect Tense Conjugation
|
yo habría tenido |
I would have had |
|
tú habrías tenido |
you would have had |
|
él/ella/usted habría tenido |
he/she/you (formal) would have had |
|
nosotros/nosotras habríamos tenido |
we would have had |
|
vosotros/vosotras habríais tenido |
you (plural) would have had |
|
ellos/ellas habrían tenido |
they would have had |
Some of the common questions about Tener
1. What does tener que means?
Tener is sometimes combined with the Spanish preposition que and an infinitive (infinitives are verbs in Spanish that end in “ar”, “er”, or “ir”). In English, the verb phrase “tener que” means “have to,” and it expresses obligation. “Tienes que hacerlo,” for instance, means “you must do it.”
2. When is Tener mostly used?
Tener is a Spanish word that means “to have.” In English, “yo tengo un carro” means “I have a car.” Many idiomatic expressions include the word tener. One of them is “tener sed,” which means “to be thirsty.”
How to develop command on the verb Tener?
You need to be consistent in your learning approach. Try to make flashcards carrying all the conjugations and go through them on a regular basis until you master them. Try taking up online quizzes to monitor your Spanish knowledge. There are several Spanish quizzes available online.
Once you master these verbs and their use, try taking your Spanish to next level. Start practicing with real Spanish sentences. It will boost your confidence to learn Spanish publically.
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