61 Uses of “tener”=to have

Tener is a YO-GO verb, which means, it has a GO part in the “I” form. The rest is quite irregular, but you can learn only “Yo tengo” (=I have) and “Tú tienes” (=You have). To talk about someone else, you just delete the S: “él tiene” or “ella tiene”.

Tener can be used in several ways:

• Expresses possession: “Tengo una casa grande” (=I have a big house), “¿Cuántos gatos tienes?” (=How many cats do you have?)
• Tells age: in Spanish, years old are not something you “are”, are something you “have” or carry as a heavy load. “Tengo cuarenta años” (=I’m forty years old). You don’t say the word “old”, imagine a two year thinking he’s old.
• Describes parts of the body: as in English, you can use “tener” to tell color or size of the eyes, hair, or other parts. “Mi mamá tiene ojos verdes” (=Mom has green eyes), “Ella tiene el pelo rojo” (=She has red hair), “Él tiene manos blancas” (=He has white hands). If such part of the body has a masculine word, the adjective should be masculine, and if feminine, the adjective should be feminine regardless of the gender of the person.
• Describes some feelings: different from English, there are just some feelings that are perceived as some load you carry, like hunger, thirst, fear, or sleepiness. “Tengo sueño” (=I have sleepiness, idiomatically “I’m sleepy). “¿Tienes hambre?” (=Do you have hunger?, idiom. are you hungry). And so, use: “tengo hambre” (=I’m hungry), “tengo sed” (=I’m thirsty), “tengo miedo” (=I’m scared).
• Tells duties: the expression TENER QUE + infinitive is the same as to have to do something. For some historical reason, you add the word QUE, but after QUE you just place the infinitive verb. “Tengo que trabajar” (=I have to work).

Sample conversations:

Invitation and duty refusal

A: ¿Quieres _______ (add verb that states invitation, in infinitive) conmigo?

B: Lo siento, no puedo (repeat verb in infinitive).

A: ¿Qué tienes que hacer?

B: Tengo que ______________ (add verb of duty in infinitive).

Verbs of invitation: cenar (=to have dinner), bailar (=to dance), escribir un ensayo (=to write an essay), fumar (=to smoke), pintar la casa (=to paint the house), acampar (=to go camping), patinar (=to skate)

Verbs of duty that sustain the refusal: estudiar, recibir una visita (=to receive a visit), ir al médico (=to go to the doctor), lavar la ropa (=to wash the clothes), hablar con la familia (=to talk to the family)