Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¿Usted tiene hambre ahora?

¿Usted tiene hambre ahora?

Are you hungry now?

Breakdown of ¿Usted tiene hambre ahora?

Questions & Answers about ¿Usted tiene hambre ahora?

Why does the Spanish sentence use tiene (have) instead of a word for "are"?

In English, we use the verb "to be" to say we are hungry. But in Spanish, physical states like hunger, thirst, or cold are treated as things you possess. So, you literally ask if someone "has hunger" (¿Usted tiene hambre?).

Why is it tiene and not tienes? Isn't "you" supposed to be tienes?

Tienes is used with the informal "you" (tú). This sentence uses the formal "you" (usted), which is used to show respect to a stranger, an older person, or someone in authority. In Spanish, usted always shares the same verb forms as "he" and "she", which is tiene.

If I am asking a woman, does hambre change to match her gender?

No, it stays exactly the same. In Spanish, hambre is a noun meaning "hunger", not an adjective like the English word "hungry". Since it is the name of a thing a person has, it does not change to match the gender of the person you are talking to.

Do I have to include usted, or can I just say ¿Tiene hambre ahora?

You can drop usted and just ask ¿Tiene hambre ahora? However, because tiene can also mean "he has" or "she has", speakers often include usted to make it perfectly clear they are asking about "you".