¿Tienes el encendedor?

Do you have the lighter?

Breakdown of ¿Tienes el encendedor?

• tener: to have
• el encendedor: the lighter

Questions & Answers about ¿Tienes el encendedor?

Why is it tienes here?

Tienes is the second person singular form of the verb tener (to have) in the present tense.

• yo tengo = I have
• tú tienes = you have
• él/ella tiene = he/she has

So ¿Tienes el encendedor? uses the tú form and is speaking to one person informally.

Why doesn’t the sentence say tú tienes?

In Spanish, subject pronouns are often left out because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• ¿Tienes el encendedor? = perfectly normal
• ¿Tú tienes el encendedor? = also possible, but tú adds emphasis or contrast

You might include tú if you want to stress you, for example:

• ¿Tú tienes el encendedor, o lo tiene Ana?

Why is there no word for do, like in Do you have…?

Spanish does not normally use an auxiliary verb like English do to form questions.

English:

• You have the lighter.
• Do you have the lighter?

Spanish:

• Tienes el encendedor.
• ¿Tienes el encendedor?

The question is shown mainly by:

• the question marks
• the intonation
• the context