Tener: possession, age, sensations, tener que

What it is

Tener (to have) is one of the hardest-working verbs in Spanish. It covers what English does with "have": things, family, pets, features (Tengo dos hermanos, Tiene los ojos verdes). It also covers several things English says with "be": your age (Tengo veinte años, I'm twenty) and how your body feels (Tengo hambre, I'm hungry). With que + infinitive it expresses obligation: Tengo que trabajar (I have to work).

How to form it

Tener is irregular in the present, but the irregularities follow patterns you will meet again:

• tengo: the yo form adds a g. Other common verbs do the same (hago, pongo, salgo), as you will see later.
• tienes, tiene, tienen: the e of the stem becomes ie when it is stressed.
• tenemos: no change, because the stress moves to the ending.

In Argentina and Uruguay you will hear vos tenés; in Spain, vosotros tenéis.

The sensation phrases use a noun after tener, so English "be + adjective" becomes "have + noun":

When to use it

• Possession, family, pets: Tengo un perro. ¿Tienes hermanos? In questions and negatives, an indefinite thing often goes without un/una: No tengo carro.
• Age: tener + number + años. Ask with ¿Cuántos años tienes?
• Sensations: Tengo frío. ¿Tienes sed?
• Obligation: tener que + infinitive. Only tener changes; the second verb stays in the infinitive.
• Describing people: Daniel tiene el pelo negro y los ojos cafés.

• Tengo veintiocho años y vivo en Guadalajara.I'm twenty-eight and I live in Guadalajara.age: tener + años
• —¿Tienes hermanos? —Sí, tengo dos hermanas.—Do you have brothers or sisters? —Yes, I have two sisters.family
• Los niños tienen sueño: son las once.The children are sleepy: it's eleven o'clock.sensation
• En La Paz hace frío por la noche y siempre tengo frío.In La Paz it's cold at night and I'm always cold.weather vs person
• Hoy tengo que trabajar hasta las siete.Today I have to work until seven.tener que
• Señora Paredes, ¿usted tiene prisa?Mrs Paredes, are you in a hurry?usted = tiene

Contrasts and traps

• Age is tener, not ser: Tengo 25 años, never soy 25 años. In a full sentence keep años; veinticinco alone works only as a quick reply to ¿Cuántos años tienes?
• The weather or you? The weather takes hacer: Hace frío (it's cold). Your body takes tener: Tengo frío (I'm cold). A thing takes estar, which you will meet soon: El café está frío.
• "Very hungry": hambre, frío, sueño are nouns, so "very" is mucho / mucha, not muy: Tengo mucha hambre, mucho frío. Hambre and sed are feminine (mucha sed); frío, calor, sueño, miedo are masculine.
• tener que, with que: Tengo que estudiar. No de, no a.
• "There is" is not tener: to say something exists, Spanish uses hay: Hay un banco en la esquina. Use tener only when someone or something has it: Mi barrio tiene un parque bonito.

If you also speak Portuguese

Where Portuguese says estar com, Spanish says tener: estou com fome → tengo hambre, never estoy con hambre. Watch the forms (tenho → tengo, tem → tiene, têm → tienen), write años with ñ, and relax about obligation: tener que works just like ter que.