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Verb Tener Grammar Notes
Review the following: Subject pronouns; what is an infinitive? What is to
conjugate a verb?
What are subject pronouns; when have you used them? And what are some of them?
What is an infinitive?
What is to conjugate a verb?
The verb Tener means “to have” and it is used to express what people possess or have; in
some especial cases, it means “to be”
It is an irregular verb in all forms except “nosotros”.
IT’S BEST TO JUST MEMORIZE IT!
Verb tener conjugations:
Yo tengo = I have
Nosotros/as tenemos =We have
Tú tienes = You (informal) have
Ustedes tienen =You (all) have
Él tiene = He has
Ella tiene = She has
Usted tiene = You (formal) have
Ellos tienen =They have (masc. )
Ellas tienen = They have (fem)
Some uses of the verb tener:
To express what people have
Tener______ años: Is used to express age
Tener _____años is one of the expressions in which tener means “to be”. Literally, this
expression means, “to have ______ years of life, but the real or true meaning is “to be ______
years old.
Marta tiene quince años.
Marta is fifteen years old.
Carlos y Luis tienen diez años; ellos son gemelos.
Carlos and Luis are ten years old; they are twins.
"Tener que + infinitive”
Tener que + infinitive is one way to express obligation or necessity. This expression can be
translated as "someone has to do something." Tener is conjugated according to the subject of
the sentence; the conjuation is followed by que and then the infinitive
Formula= Correct form of tener + que + the infinitive
Yo tengo que comer las verduras.
I have to eat the vegetables.
Ángel tiene que leer el libro.
Ángel has to read the book.
Ellos tienen que comprar comida.
They have to buy food.
María tiene un examen el lunes. Ella tiene que estudiar.
María has a test on Monday. She has to study.
Other information to know about the verb tener.
It has been mentioned at the beginning that the verb tener is an irregulalr verb because it
does not follow the established conjugation pattern for regular verbs.
It is considered a “-Go verb” because a random “g” appears, for no apparent reason, in the 1 st
person singular (yo) form. Tengo = I have.
There are more “-go verbs” that will be covered in later chapters.
It is also a “stem changing verb”. Because like the name suggests, the stem of the verb
changes.
Tener – er = ten
The stem of the verb is what’s left after you subtract the “ar, -er, -ir”
Stem
Estudiar - ar = estudi
Aprender – er = aprend
Escribir – ir = escrib
Stem
Stem
Stem
In the case of the verb tener, the “e” in the stem (ten-) changes to –ie-, making the new stem
“tien-” Except in the yo and nosotros forms