tener

Tener is a core Spanish verb meaning “to have.” It is used to express possession, physical attributes, and various states, and it also serves as the basis for many common expressions and constructions. Etymologically, tener comes from the Latin tenēre, related to other Romance verbs such as tenir/tenir in French and tenere in Italian.

In present tense usage, tener is irregular in the yo form but otherwise follows a regular stem across most forms. The standard present indicative forms are tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen. Other common tenses include the preterite (tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron), the imperfect (tenía, tenías, tenía, teníamos, teníais, tenían), the future (tendré, tendrás, tendrá, tendremos, tendréis, tendrán), and the conditional (tendría, tendrías, tendría, tendríamos, tendríais, tendrían). The present subjunctive is tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan. The affirmative tú command is ten, with negative forms such as no tengas; formal and plural forms are tenga, tengáis, tengan, and tengamos for the affirmative nosotros.

Tener participates in several common constructions. Tener que + infinitive expresses obligation (tengo que estudiar). Tener ganas de + infinitive expresses desire or inclination (tengo ganas de comer). Other frequent phrases include tener hambre o sed (to be hungry or thirsty), tener prisa (to be in a hurry), tener cuidado (to be careful), tener lugar (to take place), tener éxito (to be successful), tener razón (to be right), and tener miedo (to be afraid). Tener is transitive and often used with pronouns to indicate possession or characteristics, while its auxiliary use in compound tenses is rare, as Spanish generally uses haber for perfect tenses.