How to conjugate Tener in Spanish
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Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Indicative tenses of Tener
- Tener in the Indicative Present
- Tener in the Indicative Preterite
- Tener in the Indicative Imperfect
- Tener in the Indicative Present Continuous
- Tener in the Indicative Informal Future
- Tener in the Indicative Future
- Tener in the Indicative Conditional
- Tener in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Tener in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Tener in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Tener in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Tener
- Imperative tenses of Tener
- Example sentences and usage
- Downloadable cheat sheet (PDF)
- Practice Tener conjugations (free mobile app)
Introduction
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". Another common use for Tener is to indicate an obligation, for example: "tengo que irme a casa" - "I have to go home". It is always followed by "que" to indicate this type of obligation or "must".
Similar verbs to tener include: poseer (to have/ possess).
| Item | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | tener | to have |
| Past participle | tenido | had |
| Gerund | teniendo | having |
Indicative Tenses of Tener
Tener in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of tener is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, "tengo un gato gris", meaning "I have a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tengo | I have |
| Tú | tienes | you have |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tiene | s/he has , you (formal) have |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tenemos | we have |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tenéis | you (plural) have |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tienen | they have , you (plural formal) have |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Tener in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of tener is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "tuve un gato gris", meaning "I had a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tuve | I had |
| Tú | tuviste | you had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tuvo | s/he had, you (formal) had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tuvimos | we had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tuvisteis | you (plural) had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tuvieron | they had, you (plural formal) had |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Tener in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of tener is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "tenía un gato gris", meaning "I used to have a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tenía | I used to have |
| Tú | tenías | you used to have |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tenía | s/he used to have, you (formal) used to have |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | teníamos | we used to have |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | teníais | you (plural) used to have |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tenían | they used to have, you (plural formal) used to have |
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Tener in the Indicative Present Continuous
The Indicative Present Continuous of tener is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy teniendo un gato gris", meaning "I am having a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy teniendo | I am having |
| Tú | estás teniendo | you are having |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está teniendo | s/he is having, you (formal) are having |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos teniendo | we are having |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis teniendo | you (plural) are having |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están teniendo | they are having, you (plural formal) are having |
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Tener in the Indicative Informal Future
The Indicative Informal Future of tener is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a tener un gato gris", meaning "I am going to have a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a tener | I am going to have |
| Tú | vas a tener | you are going to have |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a tener | s/he is going to have, you (formal) are going to have |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a tener | we are going to have |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a tener | you (plural) are going to have |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a tener | they are going to have, you (plural formal) are going to have |
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Tener in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of tener is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "tendré un gato gris", meaning "I will have a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tendré | I will have |
| Tú | tendrás | you will have |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tendrá | s/he will have, you (formal) will have |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tendremos | we will have |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tendréis | you (plural) will have |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tendrán | they will have, you (plural formal) will have |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Tener in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of tener is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "tendría un gato gris", meaning "I would have a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tendría | I would have |
| Tú | tendrías | you would have |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tendría | s/he would have, you (formal) would have |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tendríamos | we would have |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tendríais | you (plural) would have |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tendrían | they would have, you (plural formal) would have |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Tener in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of tener is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, "he tenido un gato gris", meaning "I have had a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he tenido | I have had |
| Tú | has tenido | you have had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha tenido | s/he has had, you (formal) have had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos tenido | we have had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis tenido | you (plural) have had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han tenido | they have had, you (plural formal) have had |
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Tener in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of tener is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había tenido un gato gris", meaning "I had had a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había tenido | I had had |
| Tú | habías tenido | you had had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había tenido | s/he had had, you (formal) had had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos tenido | we had had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais tenido | you (plural) had had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían tenido | they had had, you (plural formal) had had |
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Tener in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of tener is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré tenido un gato gris", meaning "I will have had a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré tenido | I will have had |
| Tú | habrás tenido | you will have had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá tenido | s/he will have had, you (formal) will have had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos tenido | we will have had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis tenido | you (plural) will have had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán tenido | they will have had, you (plural formal) will have had |
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Tener in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of tener is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría tenido un gato gris", meaning "I would have had a grey cat".
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría tenido | I would have had |
| Tú | habrías tenido | you would have had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría tenido | s/he would have had, you (formal) would have had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos tenido | we would have had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais tenido | you (plural) would have had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían tenido | they would have had, you (plural formal) would have had |
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Subjunctive Tenses of Tener
Tener in the Subjunctive Present
The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, "tenga", meaning "I have ".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tenga | I have |
| Tú | tengas | you have |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tenga | s/he has , you (formal) have |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tengamos | we have |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tengáis | you (plural) have |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tengan | they have , you (plural formal) have |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Tener in the Subjunctive Imperfect
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, "tuviera", meaning "I had".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tuviera | I had |
| Tú | tuvieras | you had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tuviera | s/he had, you (formal) had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tuviéramos | we had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tuvierais | you (plural) had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tuvieran | they had, you (plural formal) had |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Tener in the Subjunctive Future
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, "tuviere", meaning "I will have".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tuviere | I will have |
| Tú | tuvieres | you will have |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tuviere | s/he will have, you (formal) will have |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tuviéremos | we will have |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tuviereis | you (plural) will have |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tuvieren | they will have, you (plural formal) will have |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Tener in the Subjunctive Present Perfect
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, "haya tenido", meaning "I have had".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya tenido | I have had |
| Tú | hayas tenido | you have had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya tenido | s/he has had, you (formal) have had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos tenido | we have had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis tenido | you (plural) have had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan tenido | they have had, you (plural formal) have had |
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Tener in the Subjunctive Past Perfect
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, "hubiera tenido", meaning "I had had".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera tenido | I had had |
| Tú | hubieras tenido | you had had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera tenido | s/he had had, you (formal) had had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos tenido | we had had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais tenido | you (plural) had had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran tenido | they had had, you (plural formal) had had |
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Tener in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, "hubiere tenido", meaning "I will have had".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere tenido | I will have had |
| Tú | hubieres tenido | you will have had |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere tenido | s/he will have had, you (formal) will have had |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos tenido | we will have had |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis tenido | you (plural) will have had |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren tenido | they will have had, you (plural formal) will have had |
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Imperative Tenses of Tener
Tener in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "tenga", meaning "(to you formal) have!".
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | ten | (to you) have! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tenga | (to you formal) have! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tengamos | let's have! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tened | (to you plural) have! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tengan | (to you plural formal) have! |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Tener in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no tenga", meaning "(to you formal) don't have!".
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no tengas | (to you) don't have! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no tenga | (to you formal) don't have! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no tengamos | let's not have! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no tengáis | (to you plural) don't have! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no tengan | (to you plural formal) don't have! |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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Example sentences and usage
- Tengo que irme a dormir. I have to go to sleep.
- No tengo la intención de ser egoísta. I don't intend to be selfish.
- No tengo a nadie que viaje conmigo. I don't have anyone who'd travel with me.
- Tengo una cuenta pendiente contigo. I have a bone to pick with you.
- ¡Dame tiempo para darte todo lo que tengo! Give me time to give you everything I have!
- Lo que no tienes es mejor que lo que sí tienes. What you don't have is better than what you do have.
- ¿Cuándo se puede decir que una persona tiene problemas con el alcohol? When can one say that a person has alcohol issues?
- Aquí tiene su cambio. Here is your change.
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Downloadable cheat sheets
Download and print a cheat sheet of Tener Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:
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Practice Tener conjugations (free mobile & web app)
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Want to explore other verb conjugations?
Why not check out Terminar – to end, to terminate, to finish or see the complete list of verbs here.
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Tener: to have
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