Irregular Verbs in the Present - Tener

Tener and Venir

"Tener" and "venir" are both irregular verbs. Because they are irregular, you must memorize their conjugations. We present these two verbs together because they are very similar in the way they are conjugated:

tener
to have
venir
to come

tengo / vengo
tienes / vienes
tiene / viene
tenemos / venimos
tenéis / venís
tienen / vienen

Tener que, Hay que

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.

Tengo que comer las verduras.
I have to eat the vegetables.

Ángel tiene que leer el periódico.
Ángel has to read the newspaper.

Ellos tienen que comprar una revista.
They have to buy a magazine.

Hay que + infinitive is used to express the idea of "one must do something" or, "it is necessary to do something." It is a more general expression and since there is no subject, the verb form hay is always used.

Hay que tomar un taxi.
It is necessary to take a taxi.

Hay que estudiar mucho.
One must study a lot.

These examples illustrate the contrasting uses of these two expressions:

María tiene un examen el lunes. Ella tiene que estudiar.
María has a test on Monday. She has to study.

No es fácil aprender el español. Hay que practicar mucho.
It isn't easy to learn Spanish. It is necessary to practice a lot.

Idiomatic Expressions with "tener"

An idiom is an expression that cannot be immediately understood by analyzing its literal meaning. A few examples of idioms in English are:

to be "on the go"
to "play the field"
to "jump the gun"

Spanish also has many idiomatic expressions. Although their literal translations sound odd to English speakers, they sound perfectly natural to native speakers. Here is one example:

Idiom: Hace mucho frío

Literally: It makes much cold

True Meaning: It is very cold

There are many idiomatic expressions that use the verb tener. This one expresses age:

Idiom: tener _____ años

Literally: to have _____ years

True Meaning: to be _____ years old

Many other expressions using tener express physical sensations:

tener frío

to be cold

tener calor

to be hot

tener hambre

to be hungry

tener sed

to be thirsty

tener sueño

to be sleepy

tener dolor de

to hurt or be sore, etc.

There are also many idiomatic expressions with tener that express sensations more psychological in nature:

tener prisa

to be in a hurry

tener miedo a/de + noun

to be afraid of something

tener miedo a/de + infinitive

to be afraid to do something

tener celos

to be jealous

tener confianza

to be confident

tener cuidado

to be careful

tener vergüenza

to be ashamed

There are other idiomatic expressions with tener as well:

tener razón

to be right

tener éxito

to be successful

tener la culpa

to be guilty

tener suerte

to be lucky

tener lugar

to take place

tener ganas de

to feel like

tener en cuenta

to take into account

When using these idiomatic expressions, conjugate the verb (tener) according to the subject of the sentence.

Yo tengo cinco años.
Tú tienes ocho años.
Pablo tiene dos años.

Notice that the expressions combine the verb tener with a noun:

• el año

• los celos

• el frío

• la confianza

• el calor

• el cuidado

• el hambre

• la vergüenza

• la sed

• la razón

• el sueño

• el éxito

• el dolor

• la culpa

• la prisa

• la suerte

• el miedo

• el lugar

Because the expressions with tener use nouns, they are modified with adjectives, not adverbs.

Tengo frío.
Tengo mucho frío. (not muy)

The first practice exercise and test will cover ten of the most common and useful of these expressions:

• tener _____ años

• tener calor

• tener frío

• tener hambre

• tener sed

• tener prisa

• tener miedo a/de _____

• tener razón

• tener suerte