Tener Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, Examples

Tener Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, Examples The Spanish verb tener, which means to have or to possess, is one of the most irregular verbs in the language. This article includes tener conjugations in the indicative mood (present, past, future and conditional), the subjunctive mood (present and past), the imperative mood, and other verb forms like the gerund and past participle. Note that the verb stem changes in some conjugations, and others have completely irregular forms. The only other verbs that follow the same conjugation pattern are verbs derived from tener such as detener, contener, abstener, obtener, sostener, and mantener. Using the Verb Tener The verb tener can be used in most contexts when you would say to have in English, with the meaning of to possess or to own. However, tener is also part of some useful expressions. For example, just like in English, tener que infinitive means to have to, the phrase tengo que trabajar means I have to work. Other important uses of the verb are tener hambre (to be hungry), tener sed (to be thirsty), tener frà ­o (to be cold), tener calor (to be hot), tener miedo (to be scared), and tener sueà ±o (to be sleepy). While in English we often use the adjectives hungry, sleepy, etc., in Spanish those states of being are expressed by the verb tener followed by the noun. For example, Bajà ³ la temperatura y ahora tengo mucho frà ­o (The temperature dropped and now I am very cold). Tener Present Indicative In the present indicative tense, the first person singular conjugation of the verb tener is irregular, and other conjugations are stem-changing. This means that the e in the stem of the verb changes to ie when it is in a stressed syllable. Yo tengo I have Yo tengo tres hermanas. Tà º tienes You have Tà º tienes el pelo negro. Usted/à ©l/ella tiene You/he/she has Ella tiene un dà ­a difà ­cil. Nosotros tenemos We have Nosotros tenemos frà ­o durante el invierno. Vosotros tenà ©is You have Vosotros tenà ©is que trabajar mucho. Ustedes/ellos/ellas tienen You/they have Ellos tienen un buen trabajo. Tener Preterite Indicative The preterite tense conjugations of tener are irregular. The stem changes to tuv-. Yo tuve I had Yo tuve tres hermanas. Tà º tuviste You had Tà º tuviste el pelo negro. Usted/à ©l/ella tuvo You/he/she had Ella tuvo un dà ­a difà ­cil. Nosotros tuvimos We had Nosotros tuvimos frà ­o durante el invierno. Vosotros tuvisteis You had Vosotros tuvisteis que trabajar mucho. Ustedes/ellos/ellas tuvieron You/they had Ellos tuvieron un buen trabajo. Tener Imperfect Indicative The imperfect tense conjugation of tener is regular. This tense can be translated as was having or used to have. Yo tenà ­a I used to have You tenà ­a tres hermanas. Tà º tenà ­as You used to have Tà º tenà ­as el pelo negro. Usted/à ©l/ella tenà ­a You/he/she used to have Ella tenà ­a un dà ­a difà ­cil. Nosotros tenà ­amos We used to have Nosotros tenà ­amos frà ­o durante el invierno. Vosotros tenà ­ais You used to have Vosotros tenà ­ais que trabajar mucho. Ustedes/ellos/ellas tenà ­an You/they used to have Ellos tenà ­an un buen trabajo. Tener Future Indicative The future tense of the verb tener is irregular. Start with the stem tendr- and add the future tense endings (à ©, s, , emos, à ©is, n). Yo tendrà © I will have Yo tendrà © tres hermanas. Tà º tendrs Youwill have Tà º tendrs el pelo negro. Usted/à ©l/ella tendr You/he/shewill have Ella tendr un dà ­a difà ­cil. Nosotros tendremos Wewill have Nosotros tendremos frà ­o durante el invierno. Vosotros tendrà ©is Youwill have Vosotros tendrà ©is que trabajar mucho. Ustedes/ellos/ellas tendrn You/theywill have Ellos tendrn un buen trabajo. Tener Periphrastic  Future Indicative   To conjugate the periphrastic future you need three components: the present indicative conjugation of the verb ir (to go), the preposition a, and the infinitive tener. Yo voy a tener I am going to have Yo voy a tener tres hermanas. Tà º vasa tener You aregoing to have Tà º vasa tener el pelo negro. Usted/à ©l/ella vaa tener You/he/she isgoing to have Ella vaa tener un dà ­a difà ­cil. Nosotros vamosa tener We aregoing to have Nosotros vamos a tener frà ­o durante el invierno. Vosotros vaisa tener You aregoing to have Vosotros vaisa tener que trabajar mucho. Ustedes/ellos/ellas vana tener You/they aregoing to have Ellos vana tener un buen trabajo. Tener Present Progressive/Gerund Form The gerund  or present participle for the verb tener is formed regularly, with the stem of the verb and the ending -iendo (for -er and -ir verbs). It can be used to form progressive tenses like the present progressive. Present Progressive ofTener est teniendo She is having Ella est teniendo un dà ­a difà ­cil. Tener Past Participle The past participle can be used to form perfect tenses, such as the present perfect. The present perfect is formed with the auxiliary verb haber and the past participle tenido. Present Perfect ofTener ha tenido She has had Ella ha tenido un dà ­a difà ­cil. Tener Conditional Indicative The conditional tense is usually translated to English as would verb. Just like in the future tense, the verb tener is irregular and uses the stem tendr-. Yo tendrà ­a I would have Yo tendrà ­a tres hermanas si pudiera escoger. Tà º tendrà ­as Youwould have Tà º tendrà ­as el pelo negro si no te lo tià ±eras. Usted/à ©l/ella tendrà ­a You/he/shewould have Ella tendrà ­a un dà ­a difà ­cil si no le ayudaras. Nosotros tendrà ­amos Wewould have Nosotros tendrà ­amos frà ­o durante el invierno, pero tenemos un buen abrigo. Vosotros tendrà ­ais Youwould have Vosotros tendrà ­ais que trabajar mucho si trabajarais en esa empresa. Ustedes/ellos/ellas tendrà ­an You/theywould have Ellos tendrà ­an un buen trabajo si fueran ms responsables. Tener Present Subjunctive The present subjunctive is formed with the present indicative conjugation. Since the yo conjugation for tener is irregular (tengo), then the present subjunctive conjugations are also irregular. Que yo tenga That I have Es una suerte que yo tenga tres hermanas. Que tà º tengas That you have A tu novio le gusta que tà º tengas el pelo negro. Que usted/à ©l/ella tenga That you/he/she have Su enemigo quiere que ella tenga un dà ­a difà ­cil. Que nosotros tengamos That we have Mam espera que nosotros no tengamos frà ­o durante el invierno. Que vosotros tengis That you have El jefe no quiere que vosotros tengis que trabajar mucho. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas tengan That you/they have La profesora quiere que ellos tengan un buen trabajo. Tener Imperfect Subjunctive There are two options for conjugating the imperfect subjunctive, both considered correct. Option 1 Que yo tuviera That I had Era una suerte que yo tuviera tres hermanas. Que tà º tuvieras That you had A tu novio le gustaba que tà º tuvieras el pelo negro. Que usted/à ©l/ella tuviera That you/he/she had Su enemigo querà ­a que ella tuviera un dà ­a difà ­cil. Que nosotros tuvià ©ramos That we had Mam esperaba que nosotros no tuvià ©ramos frà ­o durante el invierno. Que vosotros tuvierais That you had El jefe no querà ­a que vosotros tuvierais que trabajar mucho. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas tuvieran That you/they had La profesora querà ­a que ellos tuvieran un buen trabajo. Option 2 Que yo tuviese That I had Era una suerte que yo tuviese tres hermanas. Que tà º tuvieses That you had A tu novio le gustaba que tà º tuvieses el pelo negro. Que usted/à ©l/ella tuviese That you/he/she had Su enemigo querà ­a que ella tuviese un dà ­a difà ­cil. Que nosotros tuvià ©semos That we had Mam esperaba que nosotros no tuvià ©semos frà ­o durante el invierno. Que vosotros tuvieseis That you had El jefe no querà ­a que vosotros tuvieseis que trabajar mucho. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas tuviesen That you/they had La profesora querà ­a que ellos tuviesen un buen trabajo. Tener Imperative To give direct orders or commands you need the imperative mood. It is not too common to use commands with the verb tener, except to tell someone to have a good day, to be patient, to be careful, etc. Even more rare is to use these commands in the negative form. The examples in the tables below are different than the examples in the rest of the article in order to reflect more realistic uses of tener commands. Positive Commands Tà º ten Have!  ¡Ten paciencia! Usted tenga Have!  ¡Tenga un buen dà ­a! Nosotros tengamos Let's have!  ¡Tengamos cuidado en la carretera! Vosotros tened Have!  ¡Tened calma con el trabajo! Ustedes tengan Have!  ¡Tengan fe de que todo saldr bien! Negative Commands Tà º no tengas Don't have!  ¡No tengas paciencia! Usted no tenga Don't have!  ¡No tenga un buen dà ­a! Nosotros no tengamos Let's not have!  ¡No tengamos cuidado en la carretera! Vosotros no tengis Don't have!  ¡No tengis calma con el trabajo! Ustedes no tengan Don't have!  ¡No tengan fe de que todo saldr bien!