Tener means “to have.” it is an irregular stem changing verb in the present indicative tense.
| tengo | tenemos |
| tienes | tenéis |
| tiene | tienen |
Yo tengo amigos. → I have friends.
Tú tienes una mascota. → You have a pet.
Nosotros tenemos muchas clases. → We have many classes.
Telling age with tener
In addition to meaning “to have”, tener is also used in many idioms. The first is with telling age.
¿Cuántos años tienes? → How old are you? (Literally: How many years do you have?)
Tengo veinte años. → I am twenty years old. (I have twenty years.)
¿Cuántos años tiene tu hermana? → How old is your sister?
Ella tiene dieciocho años. → She is eighteen years old.
*Make sure to always use the “~” on año, or you will embarrass yourself.
Tengo quince años. → I am fifteen years old.
Tengo quince anos. → I have fifteen anuses. (yes, you read that right!)
Tener Que
Tener que means “to have to” and is followed by an infinitive form of a verb.
Yo tengo que comer. → I have to eat.
Tenemos que estudiar más. → We need to study more.
Ustedes tienen que practicar el español. → You guys need to study Spanish.
More idioms with tener
| tener calor | to be hot |
| tener celos de | to be jealous of |
| tener cuidado | to be careful |
| tener dolor de cabeza (mano, etc.) |
to have a headache |
| tener en cuenta | to take into account |
| tener éxito | to be successful |
| tener frío | to be cold |
| tener ganas de | to feel like |
| tener hambre | to be hungry |
| tener la culpa | to be to blame |
| tener lugar | to take place |
| tener miedo de | to be afraid of |
| tener prisa | to be in a hurry |
| tener que ver con | to have to do with |
| tener razón | to be right |
| tener sed | to be thirsty |
| tener sueño | to be sleepy |
| tener suerte | to be lucky |
| tener vergüenza de | to be embarrassed |
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