Tener Conjugation: How To Conjugate “To Have” In Spanish

Conjugation tables for tener in Spanish

The Spanish verb tener is one of the most most important verbs in the Spanish language. The meaning of tener is “to have”. The conjugation of tener in the present tense is: Yo tengo (I have), tú tienes, él/ella/usted tiene (he/she has, you have), nosotros tenemos (we have), vosotros tenéis (you have) and ellos/ellas/ustedes (they, you have). This post offers complete conjugation tables for tener with with example sentences.

Tener is an irregular ER verb. This means that it’s endings when conjugated in the present tense are different than all of the other regular ER verbs. This page on our site covers Spanish ER verbs in detail.

This page will cover how to conjugate tener in ten verb tenses which are necessary to speak Spanish fluently. We’ll also provide a list of the most common usages and several expressions containing tener.

We’ve provided conjugation charts (see below) with the following nine tenses:

• Present tense (presente de indicativo)
• Progressive present (presente progresivo)
• Near future (futuro inmediato)
• Future tense (futuro)
• Preterite (pretérito)
• Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)
• Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)
• Conditional (potential simple)
• Present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Tener conjugation table

Tener usage: Idioms with tener

Tener is a very versatile verb and has many usages.

1. Possession

The first usage of tener is possession. Simply put, tener equates to “to have” in English. For example:

• Yo tengo un perro. I have a dog.
• Tú tienes un gato. You have a cat.
• Ella tiene una pregunta. She has a question.
• Tenemos una casa en México. We have a house in Mexico.

2. Age

Tener is also used to express age, or “years-old”. The grammatical construction is: Tener + number + años. For example:

• ¿Cuanto años tienes? How old are you (literally how many years do you have)?
• Yo tengo veinticinco años. I’m 25 years-old.
• Mi abuelo tiene setenta anos. My grandfather is 70 years-old.

3. Tener que + infinitive

The construction tener que + infinitive means “to have to” or “must”.

• Tengo que comprar un nuevo coche. I have to buy a new car.
• Tengo que irme. I have to go.
• Usted tiene que aprender español. You need to learn Spanish.
• ¡Tienes que estudiar los verbos! You need to study the verbs!

4. Expressing feelings

Tener is also associated with expressions of feelings and “states” of being.

• Yo tengo sueno. I’m tired.
• Nosotros tenemos miedo. We’re scared
• Martín tiene celos. Martin is jealous.
• María tiene rabia. María is annoyed.

5. Hungry and thirsty

Tener is used to express being hungry and thirsty.

• Nosotros tenemos habre. We’re hungry.
• ¿Tiene usted sed? Are you thirsty?

6. Hot and cold

Expressions for being hot and cold also use tener.

• Pablo tiene frío. Pablo is cold.
• Julia tiene calor. Julia is hot.

7. To be right

The expression for “to be right” is tener razón.

• Usted tiene razón. You are right.

Tener conjugation charts.

Present tense (presente de indicativo)

In the present tense, yo tengo translates to “I have” as well as “I am having”.

yo tengo	I have	Yo tengo una casa grande.	I have a big house.
tú tienes	you have	Tú tienes un coche nuevo.	You have a new car.
él/ella, usted tiene	he/she has, you have	Ella tiene un novio.	She has a boyfriend.
nosotros tenemos	we have	Nosotros tenemos dos gatos.	We have two cats.
vosotros tenéis	you have	Vosotros tenéis un chalé en Francia.	You have a villa in France.
ellos/ellas, ustedes tienen	they, you have	Ellos tienen un negocio muy rentable.	They have a very profitable business.

Progressive present (presente progresivo)

In Spanish, the progressive present combines the present form of estar (to be) with the present participle. Yo estoy teniendo translates to “I am having”.

yo estoy teniendo	I am having	Yo estoy teniendo problemas con mi jefe.	I'm having problems with my boss.
tú estás teniendo	you are having	Tú estás teniendo recuerdos.	You are having memories.
él/ella, usted está teniendo	he/she is having, you are having	Él está teniendo un día mejor.	He is having a better day.
nosotros estamos teniendo	we are having	Nosotros estamos teniendo dificultades para perder peso.	We're having a hard time losing weight.
vosotros estáis teniendo	you have having	Vosotros estáis teniendo algunas problemas.	You are having some problems.
ellos/ellas, ustedes están teniendo	you, they have having	Ellos estan teniendo mucho éxito.	They are having a lot of success.

Near future (futuro inmediato)

In Spanish, the near future tense equates to “going to” in English and is formed by combining ir (to go) in the present tense with the preposition a and an infinitive. For example, yo voy a tener means “I’m going to have”.

yo voy a tener	I'm going to have	Yo voy a tener muchísimo éxito.	I'm going to have a lot of success.
tú vas a tener	you're going to have	Vas a tener una experiencia maravillosa.	You're going to have a wonderful experience.
él/ella, usted va a tener	he/she's going to have, you're going to have	Él va a tener un hijo.	He's going to have a son.
nosotros vamos a tener	we're doing to have	Nosotros vamos a tener hambre.	We're going to be hungry.
vosotros vais a tener	you're going to have	Vosotros vais a tener frío.	You're going to be cold.
ellos/ellas, ustedes van a tener	they're / you're going to have	Ellos van a tener que tomar una decisión.	They're going to have to make a decision.

Future tense (futuro)

In the Spanish future tense, yo tendré translates to “I will have”.

yo tendré	I will have	Yo tendré que comprar un coche nuevo.	I'll have to buy a new car.
tú tendras	you will have	Tú tendras que vender la casa.	You'll have to sell the house.
él/ella, usted tendra	he, she, you will have	Ella tendra que aprendre fancés.	She'll have to learn French.
nosotros tendremos	we will have	Nosotros tendremos que salir mañana.	We'll have to leave tomorrow.
vosotros tendréis	you will have	Vosotros tendréis que hacer caso.	You'll have to pay attention.
ellos/ellas, ustedes tendrán	they will have	Ellos tendrán dos opciónes.	They will have two options.

Preterite (pretérito)

In Spanish, the preterite is used to describe past actions which occurred at specified times. Yo tuve translates to “I had”.

yo tuve	I had	Yo tuve un buen viaje.	I had a good trip.
tú tuviste	you had	Tú tuviste muchísima suerte en España.	You had a lot of luck in Spain.
él/ella, usted tuvo	he, she, you had	Ella tuvo algunas buenas ideas.	She had a few good ideas.
nosotros tuvimos	we had	Nosotros tuvimos una buena oportunidad.	We had a good opportunity.
vosotros tuvisteis	you had	Vosotros tuvisteis que enunciar a vuestro trabajo.	You had to quit your job.
ellos/ellas, ustedes tuvieron	they, you had	Ellos tuvieron que quedarse en Argentina.	They had to stay in Argentina.

Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)

In Spanish, the present perfect indicative tense is used to express past actions which occurred at unspecified times and may have an an ongoing impact on the present.

The tense is formed by combining the present tense of haber (to have) with the past participle. Yo he tenido translates to “I have had”.

yo he tenido	I had	Yo he tenido mucho trabajo.	I have had a lot of work.
tú has tenido	you had	Tú has tenido mucha suerte.	You've had a lot of luck.
él/ella, usted ha tenido	he, she, you had	Ella ha tenido la misma experiencia.	She had the same experience.
nosotros hemos tenido	we had	Nosotros hemos tenido un buen día.	We've had a good day.
vosotros habéis tenido	you had	Vosotros habéis tenido que hacer ejercicios.	You've had to exercise.
ellos/ellos, ustedes han tenido	they, you had	Ellos han tenido que contratar a un empleo.	They've had to hire an employee.

Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)

In Spanish, the imperfect is used to describe past actions which used to happen regularly and unspecified times.

yo tenía	I used to have, was having, had	Cuando era nino, teníaun gato.	I used to have a cat when I was little.
tú tenías	you used to have, were having, had	¿Qué coche tenías?	What car did you used to have.
él/ella, usted tenía	He/she used to have, was having had / You (same as above)	Él tenía un casa en España.	He used to have a house in Spain.
nosotros teníamos	We used to have, were having, had	Nosotros teníamos dos perros.	We used to have two dogs.
vosotros teníais	you used to have, were having, had	Vosotros teníais un coche deportivo.	You used to have a sports car.
ellos/ellas, ustedes tenían	they used to have, were having, had	Ellos tenían un departamento en una estación de esquí.	They used to have a condo in a ski resort.

Conditional (potential simple)

In Spanish, the conditional is used for potential or “would” situations. Yo tendría transaltes to “I would have”.

yo tendría	I would have	Yo tendría un perro si tuviera una casa.	I'd have a dog if I had a house.
tú tendrías	you would have	Tú tendrías más si fueras más amable.	You'd have more friends if you were nicer.
él/ella, usted tendría	he, she, you would have	Ella tendría un gato si no fuera alérgica.	She's have a cat if she wasn't allergic.
nosotros tendríamos	we would have	Nosotros tendríamos más dinero si ahorráramos.	We'd have more money if we saved.
vosotros tendríais	you would have	Vosotros tendríais más tiempo libre si trabajarais menos.	You'd have more free time if you worked less.
ellos/ellas, ustedes tendrían	they, you would have	Ellos tendrían dos coches si no vivieran en la ciudad.	They'd have two cars if they didn't live in the city.

Present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

In Spanish, the present subjunctive is used to express wishes, emotions and doubts.

yo tenga	I have	Es important que tenga buenas relación con los vecinos.	It's important that I have good relations with the neighbors.
tú tengas	you have	Espero que tengas tu proprio coche.	I hope you have your own car.
él/ella, usted tenga	he/she has, you have	No sé si él tenga el día libre.	I don't know if he has the day off.
nosotros tengamos	we have	Es importante que tengamos paciencia.	It's important that we have patience.
vosotros tengáis	you have	Es necesario que tengáis pasaporte.	It's necessary that you have passports.
ellos/ellas, ustedes tengan	they, you have	Es posible que tengan un compromiso.	It's possible that they have a conflict.

Discover more:

• Hablar (to speak) conjugation tables
• Ser vs estar explained
• Spanish AR verbs
• Spanish IR verbs
• Spanish ER verbs