Tener: How to Conjugate Tener in Spanish: a complete Guide

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

tener conjugation chart

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 vos tenés	you have
él/ella/usted tiene	he/she has you (formal) have
nosotros/nosotras tenemos	we have
vosotros/vosotras tenéis ustedes tienen	you (plural) have
ellos/ellas tienen	they have

tener Imperfect Tense Conjugation

yo tenía	I had
tú tenías vos tenías	you had
él/ella/usted tenía	he/she/you (formal) had
nosotros/nosotras teníamos	we had
vosotros/vosotras teníais ustedes tenían	you (plural) had
ellos/ellas tenían	they had

tener Future Tense Conjugation

yo tendré	I will have
tú tendrás vos tendrás	you will have
él/ella/usted tendrá	he/she/you (formal) will have
nosotros/nosotras tendremos	we will have
vosotros/vosotras tendréis ustedes tendrán	you (plural) will have
ellos/ellas tendrán	they will have

tener Conditional Tense Conjugation

yo tendría	I would have
tú tendrías vos tendrías	you would have
él/ella/usted tendría	he/she/you (formal) would have
nosotros/nosotras tendríamos	we would have
vosotros/vosotras tendríais ustedes tendrían	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 vos has tenido	you have had
él/ella/usted ha tenido	he/she has had you (formal) have had
nosotros/nosotras hemos tenido	we have had
vosotros/vosotras habéis tenido ustedes han 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 vos 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 ustedes habían 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 vos 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 ustedes hubieron 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 vos 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 ustedes habrán 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 vos habrías tenido (South American)	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 ustedes habrían 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.