Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Aunque las pastillas tengan vitaminas, prefiero obtenerlas de la comida. - Although the pills may have vitamins, I prefer to get them from food.

Indicative (tienen) → although / even though (a fact the speaker presents as real and accepted)
- Aunque las pastillas tienen vitaminas, prefiero obtenerlas de la comida.
  = Although the pills do have vitamins, I prefer to get them from food.
Subjunctive (tengan) → often even if, or a fact presented as less important, hypothetical, or not fully “owned” by the speaker
- Aunque las pastillas tengan vitaminas, prefiero obtenerlas de la comida.
  = Even if the pills have vitamins, I prefer to get them from food.

In your sentence, tengan (subjunctive) downplays the importance of that fact: “Whether or not they have vitamins, I still prefer food.”

So is Aunque las pastillas tienen vitaminas wrong?

No, it is not wrong. It is just a bit different in nuance:

Aunque las pastillas tienen vitaminas…
You are stating the fact clearly and objectively: the pills do have vitamins.
Aunque las pastillas tengan vitaminas…
You are more like: “Even if they have vitamins (I am not focusing on how true/important that is)…”

Both are grammatically correct. Many native speakers would choose either one naturally depending on whether they want to present the information as a solid fact (indicative) or as something secondary / concessive (subjunctive).

What exactly is tengan grammatically, and how is it formed?

Tengan is:

Verb: tener (to have)
Mood: subjunctive
Tense: present
Person/number: 3rd person plural (they)

Present subjunctive of tener:

yo tenga
tú tengas
él / ella / usted tenga
nosotros tengamos
ustedes tengan
ellos / ellas tengan

So las pastillas tengan = “the pills (they) have” in the present subjunctive.

Why is it las pastillas (feminine)? I thought vitaminas is also feminine — is that related?

The fact that vitaminas is feminine does not determine the gender of pastillas. They are two different nouns:

la pastilla / las pastillas = pill(s), tablet(s)
la vitamina / las vitaminas = vitamin(s)

In Spanish, grammatical gender is a property of each noun:

las pastillas → feminine plural subject (the pills)
vitaminas → feminine plural noun that is the thing they contain (vitamins)

So las pastillas tengan vitaminas = “the pills have vitamins.” Both are feminine simply because pastilla and vitamina are both feminine nouns, not because one agrees with the other.

Why is there no article before vitaminas? Why not las vitaminas?

Here vitaminas is used in a general, non‑specific sense: “(some) vitamins”.

Spanish frequently uses a bare plural (no article) with verbs like tener, haber, comer, etc., when talking about something in general or in an indefinite amount:

Las pastillas tienen vitaminas. – The pills have vitamins.
Tengo amigos en México. – I have friends in Mexico.
Comemos verduras. – We eat vegetables.

If you said las vitaminas, it would sound more specific:

Las pastillas tienen las vitaminas que necesitas. – The pills have the vitamins you need.

In your sentence, we are just saying they contain vitamins in general, so vitaminas without an article is natural.

What does las in prefiero obtenerlas refer to, and why is it attached to the verb?

Las is a direct object pronoun meaning them (feminine plural). In this sentence, it refers to vitaminas:

vitaminas → feminine plural noun
direct object pronoun → las

So:

prefiero obtenerlas = “I prefer to obtain them” (the vitamins)

In Spanish, object pronouns can be:

Before a conjugated verb:
- Las prefiero obtener de la comida. – I prefer to get them from food.
Attached to an infinitive (or gerund or affirmative command):
- Prefiero obtenerlas de la comida.

Both are correct. The attached version (obtenerlas) is very common and completely natural.

Why is it las and not los in obtenerlas?

The pronoun must agree in gender and number with the noun it replaces:

vitaminas → feminine plural → pronoun las
vitaminos does not exist, so there is no masculine noun here.

If you used los, it would be masculine plural and would have to refer to some masculine noun (like vitaminos, nutrientes, suplementos, etc., if they were masculine). Since vitaminas is feminine:

✅ prefiero obtenerlas (I prefer to get them – the vitamins)
❌ prefiero obtenerlos (wrong here, gender mismatch)

Could I say prefiero las obtener de la comida instead of prefiero obtenerlas?

Prefiero las obtener sounds very unnatural and is practically never used.

With an infinitive (obtener), you have two good options:

Attach the pronoun to the infinitive:
- ✅ Prefiero obtenerlas de la comida.
Put the pronoun before the conjugated verb:
- ✅ Las prefiero obtener de la comida.

The pattern [pronoun] + infinitive (las obtener) is not used in standard Spanish. The pronoun either:

goes before the conjugated verb (las prefiero) or
is attached to the infinitive (obtenerlas).

Why is it de la comida and not just de comida, or something like desde la comida?

de la comida
- de = from / of
- la comida = food (in general, as a category)
  Spanish often uses the definite article for general categories:
- La comida es importante. – Food is important.
- Prefiero obtenerlas de la comida. – I prefer to get them from food.
de comida
Without la, de comida here would sound off or incomplete as “from food”.
You do see de comida in other structures (like un puesto de comida, “a food stand”), but not in this exact meaning of “from food (in general)” as a source.
desde la comida
Desde is more about a starting point in space or time (from/since), not a source of a substance:
- Desde mi casa – from my house
- Desde ayer – since yesterday
  For “obtain from (a source)”, the natural preposition is de, not desde.

So prefiero obtenerlas de la comida is the normal and idiomatic way to express “from food.”

Why is it just prefiero and not yo prefiero?

In Spanish, the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, nosotros, etc.) is usually omitted because the verb ending already shows the subject:

prefiero → clearly yo (I)
prefieres → tú (you, singular informal)
prefiere → él/ella/usted

So:

Prefiero obtenerlas de la comida. – I prefer to get them from food.

Using yo is not wrong, but it is only needed when you want to emphasize the subject or contrast it:

Yo prefiero obtenerlas de la comida (no tú). – I prefer to get them from food (not you).

In the neutral version, omitting yo is more natural.

Could I reword the sentence, like moving las pastillas or las around?

Yes, Spanish allows some flexibility in word order, with slight changes in emphasis. For example:

Aunque las pastillas tengan vitaminas, prefiero obtenerlas de la comida.
(Neutral, very natural.)
Aunque las pastillas tengan vitaminas, las prefiero obtener de la comida.
Slight extra emphasis on las (them).
Aunque tengan vitaminas las pastillas, prefiero obtenerlas de la comida.
Less common order, but grammatically fine; it puts tengan vitaminas earlier and makes las pastillas feel a bit more like an afterthought.

All of these are understandable. The original version is the most straightforward and natural.