The verb tener means "to have". It is an irregular verb, but it is one of the most important verbs in Spanish because it is used to talk about possession, age, and many basic physical states.
| Pronoun | Verb form |
|---|
| yo | tengo |
| tú | tienes |
| usted, él, ella | tiene |
| nosotros, nosotras | tenemos |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | tienen |
Possession
The most straightforward use of tener is to express possession or ownership, exactly like "to have" in English.
Expressing age
In English, you are a certain number of years old. In Spanish, you literally have years (años). To ask or state age, always use tener.
Physical needs and sensations
Spanish uses tener followed by a noun to express many basic needs and sensations where English uses "to be". For example, instead of saying "I am hungry", a Spanish speaker says "I have hunger" (tengo hambre).
Because these expressions use nouns (like hunger or heat) rather than adjectives, you use words like mucho or mucha (much / a lot of) instead of muy (very) to intensify them.
You also use tener to express certain mental states or concepts, such as fear (miedo), luck (suerte), and being right (razón).
