tener (to have)
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Class | Class 2 (-er) |
| Stem | ten- (irregular: teng- in yo, tien- stem-change) |
| Regularity | irregular — yo-form + e→ie stem change + irregular preterite/future |
| Participle | tenido (regular) |
| Gerund | teniendo (regular) |
One of the highest-frequency Spanish verbs — used for possession (“to have”), age (“tener 20 años”), physical sensations (“tener frío/hambre/sed”), and the obligation phrase tener que. See Modal Verbs.
Present
Irregular in two ways: the yo form takes a -go ending (like hago, salgo, pongo), and every other form except nosotros/vosotros stem-changes e → ie.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tengo |
| tú | tienes |
| él/ella/usted | tiene |
| nosotros | tenemos |
| vosotros | tenéis |
| ellos/ustedes | tienen |
Preterite
Irregular stem tuv- with a special set of preterite endings (shared with other irregular preterites like estuve, pude). Note: no accent marks anywhere.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tuve |
| tú | tuviste |
| él/ella/usted | tuvo |
| nosotros | tuvimos |
| vosotros | tuvisteis |
| ellos/ustedes | tuvieron |
Imperfect
Fully regular — one of only three verbs in Spanish (ser, ir, ver) has an irregular imperfect, and tener isn’t one of them.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tenía |
| tú | tenías |
| él/ella/usted | tenía |
| nosotros | teníamos |
| vosotros | teníais |
| ellos/ustedes | tenían |
Future
Irregular stem tendr- replaces the infinitive before the regular future endings.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tendré |
| tú | tendrás |
| él/ella/usted | tendrá |
| nosotros | tendremos |
| vosotros | tendréis |
| ellos/ustedes | tendrán |
Conditional
Same irregular stem tendr-, regular conditional endings.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tendría |
| tú | tendrías |
| él/ella/usted | tendría |
| nosotros | tendríamos |
| vosotros | tendríais |
| ellos/ustedes | tendrían |
Present perfect
haber (present) + tenido — the participle itself is regular even though the present tense isn’t.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he tenido |
| tú | has tenido |
| él/ella/usted | ha tenido |
| nosotros | hemos tenido |
| vosotros | habéis tenido |
| ellos/ustedes | han tenido |
Commands (imperative)
| Form | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | ten | no tengas |
| usted | tenga | no tenga |
| vosotros | tened | no tengáis |
| ustedes | tengan | no tengan |
The tú affirmative ten is a short irregular form — not the expected tienes → tiene pattern. See Conjugation — Commands.
tener que vs. hay que
Both express obligation (“have to / must”), but they differ in who the obligation falls on.
| Use | Verb | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal obligation — a specific subject must do something | tener que | Tengo que estudiar hoy. | I have to study today. |
| Impersonal obligation — a general rule, for anyone/no one in particular | hay que | Hay que estudiar para aprobar. | One has to study to pass. |
- tener que conjugates by subject: tengo/tienes/tiene/tenemos/tenéis/tienen que + infinitive.
- hay que never conjugates — it’s built on the impersonal hay (see hay), so it only ever has one form, always followed by an infinitive: hay que + infinitive.
| Spanish | English | Who’s obligated? |
|---|---|---|
| Tienes que llegar a tiempo. | You have to arrive on time. | you, specifically |
| Hay que llegar a tiempo. | One has to / people have to arrive on time. | no one named — a rule for everyone |
| Tenemos que reciclar más. | We have to recycle more. | us, specifically |
| Hay que reciclar más. | People need to recycle more. | general statement |
❌ Hay que tengo estudiar → ✅ hay que is never conjugated and never takes a subject — just hay que estudiar.
❌ Using hay que when you mean a specific person → ✅ if you can name who’s obligated, use tener que: Tengo que irme, not Hay que irme (unless you deliberately mean “one has to leave,” impersonally).
Examples
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo tengo dos hermanos. | I have two brothers. |
| ¿Cuántos años tienes? | How old are you? |
| Ella tiene hambre. | She’s hungry. (lit. “has hunger”) |
| Nosotros tenemos una reunión mañana. | We have a meeting tomorrow. |
| Vosotros teníais un perro cuando erais niños. | You all had a dog when you were kids. |
| Ellos tendrán más tiempo el año que viene. | They will have more time next year. |
| Yo tuve un problema con el coche ayer. | I had a problem with the car yesterday. |
| Yo he tenido suerte esta semana. | I have had luck this week. |
| Ten cuidado con el perro. (tú) | Be careful with the dog. |
| Tengo que salir en cinco minutos. | I have to leave in five minutes. |
Common mistakes
- ❌ Yo teno → ✅ Yo tengo — the yo form takes -go, not the expected -o
- ❌ Ella tiena → ✅ Ella tiene — nosotros/vosotros keep e, everyone else stem-changes to ie
- ❌ Yo tené años 20 for age → ✅ Yo tengo 20 años — Spanish uses tener, not ser, for age
- ❌ Hay que tienes estudiar mixing the two obligation forms → ✅ keep them separate: tener que conjugates, hay que never does
Summary
- Irregular -er verb: yo-go form (tengo) + e→ie stem change (tienes, tiene, tienen) in the present
- Irregular preterite stem tuv-, irregular future/conditional stem tendr-; everything else (imperfect, participle, gerund) is regular
- tener que = personal obligation, conjugated by subject; hay que = impersonal obligation, never conjugated
See also: Modal Verbs — tener que among the 4 core modal expressions.
See also: hay — the impersonal hay/hay que system.
See also: Conjugation — Present — tener alongside other irregular present-tense verbs.
See also: Conjugation — Future & Conditional — tendr- alongside other irregular stems.