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In this lesson, you will learn all there is to know about conjugating tener. You’ll also learn how to use the verb phrase tener que in Spanish and will discover the different meanings of this Spanish verb. Ready? Let’s dive into it! Tener in English is either to have or to be. It is translated as to have when it means “to possess” in Spanish. For example, “Yo tengo una casa” is “I have a house” in English. In the following expressions, tener means to be:
How to Conjugate Tener in SpanishBelow you’ll find the proper conjugation of tener. We used the current verb conjugation reference of tener provided by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE). Since they only include simple Spanish tenses in their reference because of space limitations, we have added the conjugations of both simple and compound Spanish tenses in this guide. Spanish Verbals of Tener
Indicative MoodI’ll give you a tip to help you always conjugate the tener preterite right! Do you already know the preterite of estar? Then, just eliminate the first two letters (es) from all the forms of the estar preterite. For example, “yo estuve” becomes “yo tuve”. That’s it! Now you have the correctly conjugated preterite of tener. Tiempos Simples – Simple TensesPresente – Present Tense Conjugation
Pretérito Imperfecto – Imperfect Tense Conjugation
Pretérito Perfecto – Preterite Tense Conjugation
Futuro – Future Tense Conjugation
Condicional – Conditional Tense Conjugation
Tiempos Compuestos – Compound TensesPretérito Perfecto Compuesto – Preterite (Present) Perfect Tense Conjugation
Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto – Pluperfect Tense Conjugation
Pretérito Anterior – Preterite Perfect Tense Conjugation
Futuro Compuesto – Future Perfect Tense Conjugation
Condicional Compuesto – Conditional Perfect Tense Conjugation
Subjunctive MoodDo you remember the tip I gave you about conjugating the tener preterite in the indicative mood? The same happens here! Eliminate the letters “es” from the estar preterite and you’ll get the preterite of tener. When conjugating in the subjunctive mood, “yo estuviera” becomes “yo tuviera”. Tiempos Simples – Simple TensesPresente – Present Tense Conjugation
Pretérito Imperfecto – Imperfect Tense Conjugation
Futuro – Future Tense Conjugation
(no direct English translation) Tiempos Compuestos – Compound TensesPretérito Perfecto Compuesto – Preterite (Present) Perfect Tense Conjugation
Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto – Pluperfect Tense Conjugation
Futuro Compuesto – Future Perfect Tense Conjugation
(no direct English translation) Imperative MoodMany people include all kinds of wrong verb forms in this category. However, the only accepted verb forms of the tener imperative are the following:
Tener Conjugation PracticeDo you what’s better than reading about the conjugation of tener? It’s acquiring it. If you acquire new vocabulary, you learn it subconsciously as a result of meaningful interaction with the target language. Here’s a quick warm-up: 1. ¡Mis vecinos __________ un perro muy bonito!
2. Ayer yo __________ una gripe muy fuerte.
3. Nosotros __________ mucha sed.
4. Tú __________ el pelo muy largo.
5. Ustedes __________ un carro muy rápido.
Answers: 1. tienen; 2. tuve; 3. tenemos; 4. tienes; 5. tienen Need more practice? Clozemaster will expose you to real Spanish and exercises that will require you to fill in missing information. Don’t worry if you make a mistake! It’s just proof that you are learning! Common Questions About Tener1. When is tener used in Spanish?In Spanish, tener is used to indicate possession. For example, “yo tengo un carro” means “I have a car” in English. Tener is also used in many idiomatic expressions. One of them is “tener sed”, which means “to be thirsty”. 2. What is the meaning of tener que?At times, tener is used with the Spanish preposition que and an infinitive (infinitives are verbs that end in “ar”, “er”, or “ir” in Spanish). The verb phrase “tener que” means “have to” in English, and it expresses obligation. For example, “tienes que hacerlo” means “you have to do it”. 3. Is tener a stem changing verb?Yes! Tener is a stem changing verb. The stem of tener is ten. We get the stem of Spanish verbs by eliminating the endings “ar”, “er” or “ir”. At times, the stem ten changes to tien or tuv. Learn More About TenerNow you know all there is to know about the conjugation of tener. Don’t forget to read about the different uses of tener if you don’t know them yet! Challenge yourself with ClozemasterTest your conjugation skills and see what you’ve learned from this article by playing a selection of sentences with various forms and uses of the Spanish verb tener: Sign up here to save your progress and start getting fluent with thousands of Spanish sentences at Clozemaster. Clozemaster has been designed to help you learn the language in context by filling in the gaps in authentic sentences. With features such as Grammar Challenges, Cloze-Listening, and Cloze-Reading, the app will let you emphasize all the competencies necessary to become fluent in Spanish. Take your Spanish to the next level. Click here to start practicing with real Spanish sentences! What is the Spanish verb for tener?Tener is the Spanish verb "to have". It is an extremely useful verb and is largely irregular when conjugating. It is important to note that in Spanish, tener is used to portray a person's age; for example: "tengo 21 años". This literally translates to "I have 21 years".
How do you conjugate verbs in Spanish?To conjugate a verb in the present indicative, remove the infinitive ending from the regular verb, in this case -ar , -er or -ir, and replace it with an ending indicating "the person" who performs the action of the verb. For example, the word "caminar" (walk) is the infinitive of a common regular verb that ends in -ar.
How do you conjugate tener que?When using tener que, we first need to decide who needs to do something and use the correct form of the verb tener:. Tengo que: I need.. Tienes que or tiene que: you need.. Tiene que: he, she or it needs.. Tenemos que: we need.. Tienen que: they need.. Tenéis que or tienen que: you need for a group.. |