El Rincón Español - homeschool Spanish support

Apr. 14, 2008 - Anyone for a tengo?

No, not that kind of tango.... I'm talking about tengo, a form of the common and important verb tener. Let's look at some present tense forms of tener:

Tengo - I have
Tienes - you have
Tiene - he or she have (this is also the formal "you" form)
Tenemos - we have
Tienen - They have. You (plural) have

Notice that the pronoun is built into the changing verb forms? If you want to add a pronoun to emphasize who is "having", you can use these:

yo - I
tú - you
él, ella - he, she
nosotros - we
ellos, ellas - they
Ustedes - you plural

Enough of grammar! Let's make real sentences using tener + article + a noun from your flash cards or vocabulary list. Let's start simple:

Tengo una naranja - I have an orange.
Tengo un perro - I have a dog.
Tengo los pantalones - I have the pants.
Tengo la muñeca - I have the doll.

When you are comfortable with that, start asking and answering questions using other forms of tener, por ejemplo:

¿Tienes la manzana? Sí, tengo la manzana. - Do you have the apple? Yes, I have the apple.
¿Tienes un gato? No, no tengo un gato. - Do you have a cat? No, I don't have a cat.
¿Tienes la muñeca? Sí, tengo la muñeca. - Do you have the doll? Yes, I have the doll.
¿Tienes un carro? Sí, tengo un carro. - Do you have a car? Yes, I have a car.

Play with other forms of tener, and add adjectives that you have learned, to make other sentences, por ejemplo:

Tienen una casa bonita - They have a pretty house.
Tenemos un carro azul - We have a blue car.
Ella tiene una manzana roja - She has a red apple.
Él tiene un gato negro - He has a black cat.
Tenemos un sofa verde - We have a green sofa.

There is yet another use for tener! In English we say we are hungry, or we are sleepy, but in Spanish they "have" these things. Por ejemplo:

Tengo frío - I am cold (I have cold)
Tenemos hambre - We are hungry (I have hunger)
Ella tiene sueño - She is sleepy (get it?)
Él tiene calor - He is hot/warm.
Tienes razón - You're right.
¡Ten cuidado! - Be careful! (that is the command form)
Tengo prisa - I am in a hurry.
Ella no tiene razón - She is wrong.
Tienen miedo - They are scared.
Él tiene 9 años - He is nine years old.

Tengo hambre.... time for lunch! ¡Vamos a comer! Let's eat!

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