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Sin una navaja, mi hijo tendría mucho miedo.

Sin una navaja, mi hijo tendría mucho miedo.
Without a pocket knife, my son would be very afraid.
From Lesson 229:Irregular conditional stems (tendría, haría...)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Sin una navaja, mi hijo tendría mucho miedo.

Why is the verb tendría and not tenería?
Tendría is the conditional form of tener (to have). Tener has an irregular stem in the conditional tense. Instead of adding the ending to the full infinitive, a letter drops out and is replaced by a 'd', giving us the stem tendr-. Then you add the standard conditional ending -ía to match the subject mi hijo (he).
Why use a form of tener (to have) when the English translation says 'would be'?
In Spanish, many feelings and physical states use the verb tener (to have) followed by a noun, rather than estar (to be) followed by an adjective. To say 'to be afraid', Spanish uses tener miedo (literally, 'to have fear'). Therefore, 'would be afraid' becomes tendría miedo.
The English sentence says 'very afraid'. Why does the Spanish use mucho instead of muy?
Because miedo is a noun meaning 'fear', not an adjective. In Spanish, you use mucho (much or a lot of) to modify nouns, and muy (very) to modify adjectives. Since the literal translation of the Spanish phrase is 'would have a lot of fear', you must use mucho miedo.
What is the difference between a navaja and a cuchillo?
A navaja specifically refers to a folding knife, pocket knife, or razor—something where the blade folds into the handle. A cuchillo is a standard fixed-blade knife, like the ones you use in a kitchen or at the dining table.

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