Tener

Tener – to have
Tengo            Tenemos
Tienes           Tenéis
Tiene             Tienen


Possession

The simplest and most common use of ‘tener’ is to show possession.
1.     Tengo un perro.
I have a dog.
2.     Tenemos cinco dolares.
We have five dollars.
3.     Tienes un hermano.
You have one brother.
4.     Tenéis una casa bonita.
You all have a pretty house.
5.     Juan tiene un gato.
John has a cat.
6.     Ellos tienen los tenedores.
They have the forks.

Traducción

1. I have ten dollars.
2. You have my books.
3. She has a diamond (el diamante).
4. He has the knives (el cuchillo) and the spoons (la cuchara).
5. We have a new house.
6. All of you [informal] have many friends.
7. They have many cousins.
8. I don’t have the money.
9. Who has my keys (la llave)?
10. Why do you have a bird (el pájaro) in your car?


Age

In English, we use the verb “to be” to show age: “I am twenty-nine years old.” In Spanish, however,
one has years: Tengo veintinueve años.
When asking the age of someone or something, you literally ask how many years a person or
thing has.
·        ¿Cuántos años tienes tú?                        How old are you?
·        ¿Cuántos años tiene Juan?                     How old is Juan?
·        ¿Cuántos años tiene el coche?              How old is the car?
·        ¿Cuántos años tienen ellos?                   How old are they?
4·2

Traducción

1. I am years old [state how old you are].
2. You are fi fteen years old.
3. Sanja is forty-six years old.
4. My car is four years old.
5. How old are you?
6. How old is the president?
7. Those boys are fi fteen years old.
8. Her cat is eight years old.
9. Our house is one hundred years old.
10. How old are they?

Idiomatic expressions with tener

There are several phrases in Spanish that use tener where we use the verb “to be” in English to express the same meaning. For example, instead of the English “being hungry” (“to be” adjective), one “has hunger” (“to have” noun) in Spanish. Below is a list of the most common of these idiomatic expressions. Note that in the examples, mucho or mucha indicates whether a noun is masculine or feminine.
·        tener (mucha) hambre to be (very) hungry
·        tener (mucha) sed to be (very) thirsty
·        tener (mucho) frío to be (very) cold
·        tener (mucho) calor to be (very) warm
·        tener (mucho) miedo to be (very) afraid
·        tener (mucho) orgullo to be (very) proud
·        tener (mucha) suerte to be (very) lucky
·        tener (mucha) prisa to be in a (big) hurry
·        tener (mucho) sueño to be (very) sleepy
·        tener razón to be right
·        no tener razón to be wrong

Traducción

1. I am hungry.
2. You’re thirsty.
3. He’s cold.
4. We’re lucky.
5. They (male) are in a hurry.
6. I am very hungry.
7. You’re very thirsty.
8. He’s warm.
9. I’m very lucky.
10. You all are in a big hurry.
11. I am very proud of my daughters.
12. They (male) are always right.

Obligation

To show obligation, use the following pattern, conjugating tener to correspond to the subject.
tener _ que _ infinitive
·        Tengo que practicar el piano.
I have to practice the piano.
·        ¿Tenemos que comer esta carne?
 Do we have to eat this meat?
·        Tienes que estudiar.
You have to study.
·        Tenéis que limpiar la casa.
You all have to clean the house.
·        Juan tiene que estudiar.
John has to study.
·       Ellos tienen que bailar.
They have to dance.

Traducción

1. I have to read this book.
2. You have to watch this program.
3. Tony Manero has to dance.
4. He has to open the store every morning.
5. We have to decide now.
6. You all have to write thank-you letters (la carta de agradecimiento).
7. They [m.] have to sell their car.
8. I don’t have to eat this soup.
9. You have to take the medicine.
10. We have to buy the wine for the party.

Traducción

VOCABULARIO
a propósito                          on purpose
el arco                                   arch
el banco                                bench
el espacio                            space
el/la gerente                      manager
incómodo                             uncomfortable
la lista                                   list
la manga                               sleeve
el menú, la carta               menu
el país                                   country
las papas fritas                   french fries
el precio                               price
el uniforme                          uniform

Hi. I work at McDonald’s. I have to work every Friday and Saturday, and I have to wear a uniform. The uniform is white and orange and (of course) it has yellow arches on the sleeves. We have a new menu today, and therefore I have to study the list and the prices. I have to be in the restaurant early in the morning. We have twenty tables in our restaurant. There aren’t any chairs because we have benches. The benches in “fast-food” restaurants are Uncomfortable on purpose: The customers “eat and run” and, therefore, there is always room for more customers. There are McDonald’s in almost every country in the world. Every McDonald’s has hamburgers and french fries. I live in Dublin. Ireland has almost one hundred McDonald’s. My manager is twenty years old.
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