Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¿El repelente? Lo tenemos empacado.

Using tener plus a past participle focuses on the result or the current state of an action. While lo hemos empacado simply means 'we have packed it' (focusing on the completed action), lo tenemos empacado emphasizes that 'we have it in a packed state' and it is ready to go.

Wait, could this be confused with tenemos que empacarlo?

It is a common mix-up! Just remember the formulas: tener que plus an infinitive means 'to have to do something' (an obligation). However, tener plus a past participle means you possess an object in a certain completed state. Here, the packing is already done!

If I were talking about a feminine object, like la tienda (the tent), would empacado change?

Yes! This is a major difference between using tener and using haber. In a tener plus past participle structure, the participle acts like an adjective describing the direct object, so it must agree in gender and number. For la tienda, you would say La tenemos empacada.

Could I attach the pronoun lo to the end of empacado?