Solo tengo una hermana.

I only have one sister.

Breakdown of Solo tengo una hermana.

• yo: I
• tener: to have
• la hermana: the sister
• .: period
• solo: only
• una: one

Questions & Answers about Solo tengo una hermana.

What does solo mean in this sentence? Is it “only” or “alone”?

In Solo tengo una hermana, solo means only, not alone.

• Solo tengo una hermana. → I only have one sister.
• Estoy solo. (masculine) / Estoy sola. (feminine) → I’m alone.

When solo comes right before a verb or a quantity (like tengo, una), it almost always means only.
When it comes after estar (or sometimes quedar(se), etc.), it usually means alone.

Why is it solo and not sólo? I thought “only” was written with an accent.

Traditionally:

• sólo = only (adverb)
• solo/sola = alone (adjective)

The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) changed the rule:

• Today, the recommended spelling in almost all cases is solo (without accent), even when it means only.
• An accent sólo is now considered optional and only suggested in rare cases where there is real ambiguity.

In Spain, you will still see many people write sólo = only, but Solo tengo una hermana (no accent) is fully correct and standard.

Can I say solamente instead of solo? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Solo tengo una hermana.
• Solamente tengo una hermana.

Both mean I only have one sister.

Differences:

• solamente is a bit more formal or emphatic.
• In everyday speech in Spain, solo is more common and sounds more natural.

Meaning-wise, in this sentence they are practically the same.

Can I move solo in the sentence? For example, Tengo solo una hermana?

Yes, word order can change slightly, usually just affecting emphasis:

1. Solo tengo una hermana.
   
   • Neutral, very common. Slight emphasis on the verb (I only have).
2. Tengo solo una hermana.
   
   • Slight emphasis on the number (I have only one sister).
3. Tengo una sola hermana.
   
   • Stronger emphasis on “just one”, often with a bit more emotional or contrastive feel.

All three are correct in Spain. The most typical everyday version is Solo tengo una hermana.

Less natural versions:

• Tengo una hermana solo. – grammatically possible, but sounds odd or very marked in most contexts.

Why don’t we say Yo solo tengo una hermana? Is leaving out yo okay?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns (yo, tú, él…) because the verb ending already shows the subject.

• Tengo already tells you it’s yo (I).
• So Solo tengo una hermana is the normal, natural version.

You can add yo to emphasize I (contrast, insistence):

• Yo solo tengo una hermana. → I only have one sister (but maybe others have more).

Without that contrast, yo sounds a bit unnecessary or heavy.

Why do we need una? Could I say Solo tengo hermana like in English “I only have sister”?

No, that would be incorrect in Spanish.

In Spanish, a singular countable noun almost always needs some kind of article or determiner (un/una, el/la, mi/tu, etc.).

• Solo tengo una hermana. ✅
• Solo tengo hermana. ❌

You can omit the article in other structures, for example:

• Tengo hambre. → I’m hungry.
• Soy profesora. → I’m a teacher.

But with a specific countable person like one sister, you must use una.

Why is it una and not un?

Because hermana is feminine, and Spanish articles must agree in gender and number with the noun:

• un hermano → a brother (masculine singular)
• una hermana → a sister (feminine singular)
• unos hermanos → some brothers / some siblings (masculine plural / mixed)
• unas hermanas → some sisters (feminine plural)

So:

• Solo tengo un hermano. → I only have one brother.
• Solo tengo una hermana. → I only have one sister.

If solo can mean “alone”, why doesn’t Solo tengo una hermana mean “I alone have one sister”?

The meaning depends on position and function:

• solo before a verb or quantity → almost always only (adverb).
  
  • Solo tengo una hermana. → I only have one sister.
• solo/sola after estar (or similar) → usually alone (adjective).
  
  • Estoy solo. / Estoy sola. → I’m alone.

To express I alone have one sister (= nobody else has one), you’d normally rephrase in Spanish, e.g.:

• Solo yo tengo una hermana. → Only I have a sister.

So in your sentence there is no realistic way to read solo as “alone”. Native speakers automatically understand it as “only”.

How would I say “I don’t have any sisters” or “I have two sisters” in Spanish?

Using the same structure:

• No tengo hermanas. → I don’t have any sisters.
  
  • Note the double negative is normal: No
    • ninguna (or just plural hermanas).
• Solo tengo dos hermanas. → I only have two sisters.
• Tengo dos hermanas. → I have two sisters.

With no sisters at all you can also say:

• No tengo ninguna hermana. → I don’t have any sister.

How do I say “I only have one older/younger sister” using this sentence?

You just add mayor (older) or menor (younger) after hermana:

• Solo tengo una hermana mayor. → I only have one older sister.
• Solo tengo una hermana menor. → I only have one younger sister.

If you wanted to emphasize only one even more, you could also say:

• Tengo una sola hermana mayor.
• Tengo una sola hermana menor.