What does tener mean in English?

Tener means "to have" in English.

How do you conjugate tener in Spanish?

Tener is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with tener?

Common idiomatic expressions using tener include: "tener hambre / sed / frío / calor / sueño" (to be hungry / thirsty / cold / hot / sleepy), "tener razón" (to be right), "tener ganas de" (to feel like (doing something)). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using tener?

Tener is one of the most frequently used verbs in Spanish

What verbs are related to tener?

Verbs related to tener include: mantener, contener, obtener. These verbs share similar meanings, stems, or conjugation patterns.

How do you use tener in a sentence?

Example: "Tengo tres hermanos." which means "I have three brothers." in English.

What are synonyms for tener?

Spanish synonyms for tener include: poseer, disponer de, contar con. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Tener

to have

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

tener

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

teniendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

tenido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	tengo I have	I have
tú	tienes you have	you have
él/ella/usted	tiene he/she/you haves	he/she/you haves
nosotros	tenemos we have	we have
vosotros	tenéis you all have	you all have
ellos/ustedes	tienen they/you all have	they/you all have

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	tenía I used to have	I used to have
tú	tenías you used to have	you used to have
él/ella/usted	tenía he/she/you used to have	he/she/you used to have
nosotros	teníamos we used to have	we used to have
vosotros	teníais you all used to have	you all used to have
ellos/ustedes	tenían they/you all used to have	they/you all used to have

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	tuve I had	I had
tú	tuviste you had	you had
él/ella/usted	tuvo he/she/you had	he/she/you had
nosotros	tuvimos we had	we had
vosotros	tuvisteis you all had	you all had
ellos/ustedes	tuvieron they/you all had	they/you all had

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	tendré I will have	I will have
tú	tendrás you will have	you will have
él/ella/usted	tendrá he/she/you will have	he/she/you will have
nosotros	tendremos we will have	we will have
vosotros	tendréis you all will have	you all will have
ellos/ustedes	tendrán they/you all will have	they/you all will have

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	tendría I would have	I would have
tú	tendrías you would have	you would have
él/ella/usted	tendría he/she/you would have	he/she/you would have
nosotros	tendríamos we would have	we would have
vosotros	tendríais you all would have	you all would have
ellos/ustedes	tendrían they/you all would have	they/you all would have

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	tenga that I have	that I have
tú	tengas that you have	that you have
él/ella/usted	tenga that he/she/you have	that he/she/you have
nosotros	tengamos that we have	that we have
vosotros	tengáis that you all have	that you all have
ellos/ustedes	tengan that they/you all have	that they/you all have

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	tuviera or tuviese that I had	that I had
tú	tuvieras or tuvieses that you had	that you had
él/ella/usted	tuviera or tuviese that he/she/you had	that he/she/you had
nosotros	tuviéramos or tuviésemos that we had	that we had
vosotros	tuvierais or tuvieseis that you all had	that you all had
ellos/ustedes	tuvieran or tuviesen that they/you all had	that they/you all had

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he tenido I have had	I have had
tú	has tenido you have had	you have had
él/ella/usted	ha tenido he/she/you have had	he/she/you have had
nosotros	hemos tenido we have had	we have had
vosotros	habéis tenido you all have had	you all have had
ellos/ustedes	han tenido they/you all have had	they/you all have had

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había tenido I had had	I had had
tú	habías tenido you had had	you had had
él/ella/usted	había tenido he/she/you had had	he/she/you had had
nosotros	habíamos tenido we had had	we had had
vosotros	habíais tenido you all had had	you all had had
ellos/ustedes	habían tenido they/you all had had	they/you all had had

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube tenido I had had	I had had
tú	hubiste tenido you had had	you had had
él/ella/usted	hubo tenido he/she/you had had	he/she/you had had
nosotros	hubimos tenido we had had	we had had
vosotros	hubisteis tenido you all had had	you all had had
ellos/ustedes	hubieron tenido they/you all had had	they/you all had had

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré tenido I will have had	I will have had
tú	habrás tenido you will have had	you will have had
él/ella/usted	habrá tenido he/she/you will have had	he/she/you will have had
nosotros	habremos tenido we will have had	we will have had
vosotros	habréis tenido you all will have had	you all will have had
ellos/ustedes	habrán tenido they/you all will have had	they/you all will have had

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría tenido I would have had	I would have had
tú	habrías tenido you would have had	you would have had
él/ella/usted	habría tenido he/she/you would have had	he/she/you would have had
nosotros	habríamos tenido we would have had	we would have had
vosotros	habríais tenido you all would have had	you all would have had
ellos/ustedes	habrían tenido they/you all would have had	they/you all would have had

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya tenido that I have had	that I have had
tú	hayas tenido that you have had	that you have had
él/ella/usted	haya tenido that he/she/you have had	that he/she/you have had
nosotros	hayamos tenido that we have had	that we have had
vosotros	hayáis tenido that you all have had	that you all have had
ellos/ustedes	hayan tenido that they/you all have had	that they/you all have had

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera tenido that I had had	that I had had
tú	hubieras tenido that you had had	that you had had
él/ella/usted	hubiera tenido that he/she/you had had	that he/she/you had had
nosotros	hubiéramos tenido that we had had	that we had had
vosotros	hubierais tenido that you all had had	that you all had had
ellos/ustedes	hubieran tenido that they/you all had had	that they/you all had had

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	ten	have! (you)
usted	tenga	have! (you formal)
nosotros	tengamos	let's have!
vosotros	tened	have! (you all)
ustedes	tengan	have! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no tengas	don't have! (you)
usted	no tenga	don't have! (you formal)
nosotros	no tengamos	let's not have!
vosotros	no tengáis	don't have! (you all)
ustedes	no tengan	don't have! (you all)

More About "tener"

Idiomatic Expressions

tener hambre / sed / frío / calor / sueño

to be hungry / thirsty / cold / hot / sleepy

💡 Spanish uses "tener" + noun where English uses "to be" + adjective

tener razón

to be right

💡 Stating correctness in an argument or opinion

tener ganas de

to feel like (doing something)

💡 Expressing desire or inclination to do something

tener que ver con

to have to do with / to be related to

💡 Indicating connection or relevance

tener en cuenta

to take into account / to bear in mind

💡 Considering something when making a decision

tener la culpa

to be to blame / to be at fault

💡 Assigning responsibility for something wrong

no tener pelos en la lengua

to not mince words (lit: to not have hairs on the tongue)

💡 Speaking bluntly and directly

tener lugar

to take place / to occur

💡 Describing when an event happens

Examples in Context

Tengo tres hermanos.

I have three brothers.

Present

Tuve una idea brillante.

I had a brilliant idea.

Preterite

Tenía miedo de la oscuridad.

I was afraid of the dark.

Imperfect

Tendremos que salir temprano.

We will have to leave early.

Future

Han tenido mucha suerte.

They have been very lucky.

Present Perfect

Related Verbs

mantener(to maintain, keep)