Learn Spanish (Spain): Tienen siete amigos en España.

Tienen siete amigos en España.

They have seven friends in Spain.

Breakdown of Tienen siete amigos en España.

el amigo

the friend

in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)

Questions & Answers about Tienen siete amigos en España.

Does siete change to match the gender of amigos?

No. In Spanish, most numbers don't change to match the gender of the noun they describe. Whether you are talking about male friends (amigos) or female friends (amigas), the number stays exactly the same: siete. The only exception in the 1 to 10 range is the number one (un or una).

How do we know this means "They have" when there is no word for "they" in the sentence?

In Spanish, the ending of the verb usually tells you who is doing the action, so subject pronouns like "I", "you", or "they" are often left out. The verb tienen comes from tener (to have) and specifically means "they have" or "you all have". If you wanted to emphasize "they", you could add Ellos or Ellas at the beginning.

Why does tienen have an "ie" in the middle instead of just an "e"?

The verb tener (to have) is a "stem-changing" verb. When you change it to match certain people, like "they" (tienen), the "e" in the middle changes to "ie". You will see this spelling change happen in many common Spanish verbs.

Could I use a España instead of en España?

Not in this case. You use en to talk about being located in or at a place (like having friends physically located in Spain). You use a when talking about movement or traveling to a place (like going to Spain).