Tener expressions: where Spanish says have, not be
Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated:
English uses to be for hunger, thirst, age, fear and sleepiness. Spanish uses tener, to have, for all of these. Translating word for word with ser or estar produces sentences natives do not say.
Physical states with tener
Tener hambre is to be hungry, tener sed is to be thirsty, tener frío is to be cold, tener calor is to be hot, tener sueño is to be sleepy, tener miedo is to be afraid and tener prisa is to be in a hurry. These are fixed phrases with a noun, so they do not change for gender: ella tiene frío, never fría.
Age and obligation
Age uses tener plus años: tengo veinticinco años, literally I have twenty-five years. Never say soy veinticinco. Obligation uses tener que plus an infinitive: tengo que estudiar, I have to study. Both patterns are among the most used structures in everyday Spanish.
| Spanish | Literal | English |
|---|---|---|
| tengo hambre | I have hunger | I am hungry |
| tienes sed | you have thirst | you are thirsty |
| tiene frío | she has cold | she is cold |
| tenemos sueño | we have sleep | we are sleepy |
| tienen miedo | they have fear | they are afraid |
| tengo que irme | I have to leave | I must go |
| tiene diez años | he has ten years | he is ten |
Common errors
The classic error is estoy hambre or soy hambre; the noun demands tener. Watch the spelling of the yo form tengo and the stem change in tú tienes, él tiene, ellos tienen, while nosotros tenemos keeps the e. Tener ganas de plus an infinitive means to feel like doing: tengo ganas de viajar, I feel like travelling.
More tener phrases worth learning as chunks: tener razón is to be right (and no tener razón to be wrong), tener suerte is to be lucky, tener éxito is to succeed, tener cuidado is to be careful, and tener lugar is to take place. Spanish also says tener calor only for people; a hot object is caliente, so la sopa está caliente, never tiene calor. The same logic splits frío: a person tiene frío, a thing está frío, and weather hace frío. These three verbs, tener, estar and hacer, divide the whole temperature world between them.
Quick self-check
Choose: (Tengo / Estoy) hambre.
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Tengo
Choose: Ella (tiene / es) quince años.
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tiene
Choose: (Tienes que / Tienes) estudiar más.
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Tienes que
Choose: Nosotros (tenemos / tienemos) prisa.
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tenemos