Tener Conjugation | How to Conjugate Tener in Spanish

Tener means “to have,” “to possess,” or “to experience.” You will learn its tengo, tuve, tendré, tenga, tuviera, and tuviere families, plus tener que, age, sensations, and commands.

Tener conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Tener combines several stems: teng- in tengo and the present subjunctive, tuv- in the preterite and related subjunctives, and tendr- in the future and conditional.

Tener gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. The participle tenido remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	tener	to have
Gerund	teniendo	having
Past participle	tenido	had

Tener meaning and essential uses

Tener commonly expresses possession or having something available: Tengo un coche. — “I have a car.” RAE also records experiences and states such as tener hambre — “to be hungry,” tener miedo — “to be afraid,” and tener calor — “to be hot.”

It is also central for age and obligation: Tengo treinta años. — “I am thirty years old.” Tengo que trabajar. — “I have to work.” The obligation pattern requires que + infinitive.

Tener irregular conjugation patterns

The present is tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen. The preterite uses tuv-: tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron.

Future and conditional use tendr-: tendré / tendría. Present subjunctive uses teng-: tenga, tengas, tengamos, tengáis, tengan. Past and future subjunctive use tuvier-.

Tener indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Tener present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The present uses irregular tengo and stem-changing tienes / tiene / tienen, with tenemos / tenéis.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tengo	I have
Tú — you, singular informal	tienes	you have
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tiene	he / she has; you have (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tenemos	we have
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tenéis	you have (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tienen	they have; you have (plural)

• Tengo dos hermanos. — I have two siblings.

Tener preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The entire preterite uses the irregular tuv- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tuve	I had
Tú — you, singular informal	tuviste	you had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tuvo	he / she had; you had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tuvimos	we had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tuvisteis	you had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tuvieron	they had; you had (plural)

• Ayer tuve una reunión importante. — Yesterday I had an important meeting.

Tener imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant tenido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tenía	I used to have / was having
Tú — you, singular informal	tenías	you used to have / were having
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tenía	he / she used to have / was having; you used to have / were having (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	teníamos	we used to have / were having
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	teníais	you used to have / were having (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tenían	they used to have / were having; you used to have / were having (plural)

• De niño tenía mucho tiempo libre. — As a child, I had a lot of free time.

Tener present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Estar + teniendo is natural in dynamic or temporary experiences such as estoy teniendo problemas — “I am having problems.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy teniendo	I am having
Tú — you, singular informal	estás teniendo	you are having
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está teniendo	he / she is having; you are having (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos teniendo	we are having
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis teniendo	you are having (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están teniendo	they are having; you are having (plural)

• Estoy teniendo algunos problemas con el sistema. — I am having some problems with the system.

Tener near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and tener.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a tener	I am going to have
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a tener	you are going to have
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a tener	he / she is going to have; you are going to have (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a tener	we are going to have
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a tener	you are going to have (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a tener	they are going to have; you are going to have (plural)

• Voy a tener más tiempo mañana. — I am going to have more time tomorrow.

Tener future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The future uses the irregular stem tendr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tendré	I will have
Tú — you, singular informal	tendrás	you will have
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tendrá	he / she will have; you will have (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tendremos	we will have
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tendréis	you will have (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tendrán	they will have; you will have (plural)

• Tendremos una respuesta el viernes. — We will have an answer on Friday.

Tener conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The conditional uses the irregular stem tendr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tendría	I would have
Tú — you, singular informal	tendrías	you would have
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tendría	he / she would have; you would have (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tendríamos	we would have
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tendríais	you would have (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tendrían	they would have; you would have (plural)

• Tendría más cuidado en tu situación. — I would be more careful in your situation.

Tener present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant tenido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he tenido	I have had
Tú — you, singular informal	has tenido	you have had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha tenido	he / she has had; you have had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos tenido	we have had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis tenido	you have had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han tenido	they have had; you have had (plural)

• He tenido una semana muy ocupada. — I have had a very busy week.

Tener past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant tenido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había tenido	I had had
Tú — you, singular informal	habías tenido	you had had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había tenido	he / she had had; you had had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos tenido	we had had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais tenido	you had had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían tenido	they had had; you had had (plural)

• Ya habíamos tenido ese problema antes. — We had already had that problem before.

Tener future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant tenido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré tenido	I will have had
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás tenido	you will have had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá tenido	he / she will have had; you will have had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos tenido	we will have had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis tenido	you will have had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán tenido	they will have had; you will have had (plural)

• Para entonces habrán tenido suficiente tiempo. — By then they will have had enough time.

Tener conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant tenido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría tenido	I would have had
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías tenido	you would have had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría tenido	he / she would have had; you would have had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos tenido	we would have had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais tenido	you would have had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían tenido	they would have had; you would have had (plural)

• Habría tenido más paciencia con más información. — I would have had more patience with more information.

Tener subjunctive conjugations

Tener present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The present subjunctive uses the teng- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tenga	that I have
Tú — you, singular informal	tengas	that you have
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tenga	that he / she have; that you have (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tengamos	that we have
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tengáis	that you have (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tengan	that they have; that you have (plural)

• Quiero que tengas cuidado. — I want you to be careful.

Tener imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. These forms use tuvier-; the main table shows the -ra series.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tuviera	that I had
Tú — you, singular informal	tuvieras	that you had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tuviera	that he / she had; that you had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tuviéramos	that we had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tuvierais	that you had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tuvieran	that they had; that you had (plural)

• Preferían que tuviéramos más tiempo. — They preferred that we have more time.
• Era mejor que tuvieses toda la información. — It was better for you to have all the information.

Tener future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare forms use the tuvier- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tuviere	if / when I should have
Tú — you, singular informal	tuvieres	if / when you should have
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tuviere	if / when he / she should have; if / when you should have (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tuviéremos	if / when we should have
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tuviereis	if / when you should have (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tuvieren	if / when they should have; if / when you should have (plural)

• Quien tuviere derecho a reclamar deberá hacerlo por escrito. — Whoever should have the right to complain must do so in writing.

Tener present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant tenido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya tenido	that I have had
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas tenido	that you have had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya tenido	that he / she has had; that you have had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos tenido	that we have had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis tenido	that you have had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan tenido	that they have had; that you have had (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas tenido éxito. — I am glad that you have been successful.

Tener past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant tenido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera tenido	that I had had
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras tenido	that you had had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera tenido	that he / she had had; that you had had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos tenido	that we had had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais tenido	that you had had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran tenido	that they had had; that you had had (plural)

• Si hubiera tenido más tiempo, habría terminado antes. — If I had had more time, I would have finished earlier.
• Si hubieses tenido cuidado, no habría ocurrido. — If you had been careful, it would not have happened.

Tener future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant tenido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere tenido	if / when I should have had
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres tenido	if / when you should have had
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere tenido	if / when he / she should have had; if / when you should have had (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos tenido	if / when we should have had
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis tenido	if / when you should have had (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren tenido	if / when they should have had; if / when you should have had (plural)

• Si hubieren tenido conocimiento del hecho, deberán declararlo. — If they should have had knowledge of the fact, they must declare it.

Tener imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Tener affirmative commands

Use the verified affirmative command forms for direct instructions when the target meaning supports them naturally.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	ten	have
Usted — you, singular formal	tenga	have (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	tengamos	let’s have
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tened	have (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	tengan	have (plural)

• Ten paciencia. — Be patient.

Tener negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no — “not / do not” — before the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no tengas	do not have
Usted — you, singular formal	no tenga	do not have (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no tengamos	let’s not have
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no tengáis	do not have (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no tengan	do not have (plural)

• No tengas miedo. — Do not be afraid.

Common constructions with Tener

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• tener algo. — to have / possess something.
• tener + age. — to be a certain age.
• tener hambre / sed / miedo / calor / frío. — to be hungry / thirsty / afraid / hot / cold.
• tener que + infinitive. — to have to do something.

Example sentences with Tener

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• Tengo treinta años. — I am thirty years old.
• Tenemos que salir ahora. — We have to leave now.
• ¿Tienes hambre? — Are you hungry?
• Espero que tengas tiempo mañana. — I hope you have time tomorrow.
• Han tenido muchos problemas. — They have had many problems.
• Ten cuidado al cruzar la calle. — Be careful when crossing the street.

Regional and usage notes for Tener

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms in regions where vos — “you, singular informal” — is used.

• Vos tenés razón. — You are right. (voseo)
• Tené paciencia. — Be patient. (affirmative vos command)

For tener, learn the major stem families separately: teng-, tuv-, tendr-, and tuvier-. Then master the high-frequency constructions for age, sensations, possession, and tener que + infinitive.