Verb · irregular
tener
to have
The thing that catches people out
Spanish has age rather than being it: tengo treinta años is I have thirty years. The same shape covers hunger, thirst, cold and fear, so tengo hambre is I am hungry.
Present
What happens, and what is happening now.
| yo | tengo | |
| tú | tienes | |
| él, ella, usted | tiene | |
| nosotros | tenemos | |
| ellos, ustedes | tienen | |
| vosotros, Spain only | tenéis |
Preterite, the finished past
Something that happened and is over: yesterday, last year, once.
| yo | tuve | |
| tú | tuviste | |
| él, ella, usted | tuvo | |
| nosotros | tuvimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | tuvieron | |
| vosotros, Spain only | tuvisteis |
Imperfect, the background past
What used to happen, or was going on when something else happened.
| yo | tenía | |
| tú | tenías | |
| él, ella, usted | tenía | |
| nosotros | teníamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | tenían | |
| vosotros, Spain only | teníais |
Future
Will do. In conversation, ir a plus the verb is more common: voy a comer.
| yo | tendré | |
| tú | tendrás | |
| él, ella, usted | tendrá | |
| nosotros | tendremos | |
| ellos, ustedes | tendrán | |
| vosotros, Spain only | tendréis |
Present perfect
Have done. Used far more in Spain, where it covers today; most of Latin America uses the preterite there.
| yo | he tenido | |
| tú | has tenido | |
| él, ella, usted | ha tenido | |
| nosotros | hemos tenido | |
| ellos, ustedes | han tenido | |
| vosotros, Spain only | habéis tenido |
Other forms
The -ing form, the form that follows he, has and ha, and how to tell someone to do it.
| -ing form | teniendo | |
| participle | tenido | |
| command, to tú | ten | |
| command, to usted | tenga |
In a sentence
tengo dos hermanos
I have two brothers, or a brother and a sister
tengo hambre
I am hungry