Tener Conjugation in Spanish
tener means “have” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 4 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for possession and ownership, for age and physical states, and for obligations with tener que + infinitive. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of tener — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Yo tengo dos hermanos todos los días.” — “I have two brothers every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: tener
- English: to have
- Verb type: Irregular — stem-changing (e → ie)
- Irregular in: present, preterite, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: teniendo
- Past participle: tenido
- Auxiliary: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + the past participle)
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for tener. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tengo |
| tú | tienes |
| él/ella/Ud. | tiene |
| nosotros/as | tenemos |
| vosotros/as | tenéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tienen |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tuve |
| tú | tuviste |
| él/ella/Ud. | tuvo |
| nosotros/as | tuvimos |
| vosotros/as | tuvisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tuvieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tenía |
| tú | tenías |
| él/ella/Ud. | tenía |
| nosotros/as | teníamos |
| vosotros/as | teníais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tenían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tendré |
| tú | tendrás |
| él/ella/Ud. | tendrá |
| nosotros/as | tendremos |
| vosotros/as | tendréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tendrán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tendría |
| tú | tendrías |
| él/ella/Ud. | tendría |
| nosotros/as | tendríamos |
| vosotros/as | tendríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tendrían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he tenido |
| tú | has tenido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha tenido |
| nosotros/as | hemos tenido |
| vosotros/as | habéis tenido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han tenido |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había tenido |
| tú | habías tenido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había tenido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos tenido |
| vosotros/as | habíais tenido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían tenido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré tenido |
| tú | habrás tenido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá tenido |
| nosotros/as | habremos tenido |
| vosotros/as | habréis tenido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán tenido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría tenido |
| tú | habrías tenido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría tenido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos tenido |
| vosotros/as | habríais tenido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían tenido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tenga |
| tú | tengas |
| él/ella/Ud. | tenga |
| nosotros/as | tengamos |
| vosotros/as | tengáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tengan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tuviera |
| tú | tuvieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | tuviera |
| nosotros/as | tuviéramos |
| vosotros/as | tuvierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tuvieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ten |
| él/ella/Ud. | tenga |
| nosotros/as | tengamos |
| vosotros/as | tened |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tengan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | tengas |
| él/ella/Ud. | tenga |
| nosotros/as | tengamos |
| vosotros/as | tengáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tengan |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | teniendo |
| Past participle | tenido |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With tener this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Yo tengo dos hermanos todos los días.” — “I have two brothers every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. With tener this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tú tuviste veinte años ayer.” — “You had twenty years yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él tenía una casa en Sevilla antes.” — “He used to have a house in Seville before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. With tener this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Yo tendré dos hermanos mañana.” — “I will have two brothers tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. With tener this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tú tendrías veinte años algún día.” — “You would have twenty years someday.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience, formed with haber + the past participle. For example: “Él ha tenido una casa en Sevilla esta semana.” — “He has had a house in Seville this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había tenido dos hermanos antes de la fiesta.” — “I had had two brothers before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tú habrás tenido veinte años para mañana.” — “You will have had twenty years by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría tenido una casa en Sevilla ayer.” — “He would have had a house in Seville yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With tener this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Es importante que yo tenga dos hermanos.” — “It is important that i have two brothers.”
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, and clauses after a past-tense trigger. With tener this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ojalá tú tuvieras veinte años.” — “I wish you had twenty years.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With tener this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “¡Ten una casa en Sevilla!” — “Have a house in Seville!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With tener this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “No tengas dos hermanos.” — “Do not have two brothers.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with tener, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo tengo dos hermanos todos los días.” — “I have two brothers every day.”
- “Tú tuviste veinte años ayer.” — “You had twenty years yesterday.”
- “Él tenía una casa en Sevilla antes.” — “He used to have a house in Seville before.”
- “Yo tendré veinte años mañana.” — “I will have twenty years tomorrow.”
- “Tú tendrías dos hermanos algún día.” — “You would have two brothers someday.”
- “Él ha tenido una casa en Sevilla esta semana.” — “He has had a house in Seville this week.”
- “Yo había tenido dos hermanos antes de la fiesta.” — “I had had two brothers before the party.”
- “Tú habrás tenido veinte años para mañana.” — “You will have had twenty years by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él tenga una casa en Sevilla.” — “It is important that he have a house in Seville.”
- “¡Ten dos hermanos!” — “Have two brothers!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo tener dos hermanos.”
✓ Right: “Yo tengo dos hermanos.”
The infinitive tener never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form tengo.
2. Confusing tener with haber
✗ Wrong: “Yo he dos hermanos.”
✓ Right: “Yo tengo dos hermanos.”
Tener means to possess; haber is the auxiliary used in perfect tenses.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy tenido dos hermanos.”
✓ Right: “Yo he tenido dos hermanos.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle tenido.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “tendre”
✓ Right: “tendré”
The accent on tendré is part of the spelling in the future. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Ojalá tú tienes dos hermanos.”
✓ Right: “Ojalá tú tengas dos hermanos.”
After ojalá Spanish needs the subjunctive, so use tengas here, not the indicative tienes.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo tuve dos hermanos antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo tenía dos hermanos antes.”
The preterite tuve describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect tenía.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on tener. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of tener in the Present indicative?
- A) tienes
- B) tiene
- C) tenemos
- D) tengo
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of tener in the Preterite?
- A) tuviste
- B) tuvimos
- C) tuvo
- D) tuve
What is the nosotros/as form of tener in the Imperfect?
- A) teníais
- B) teníamos
- C) tenía
- D) tenías
What is the tú form of tener in the Future?
- A) tendrás
- B) tendré
- C) tendrá
- D) tendremos
What is the yo form of tener in the Conditional?
- A) tendrías
- B) tendríamos
- C) tendríais
- D) tendría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of tener in the Present subjunctive?
- A) tengamos
- B) tengáis
- C) tenga
- D) tengas
What is the yo form of tener in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) tuvierais
- B) tuviera
- C) tuvieras
- D) tuviéramos
What is the gerund of tener?
- A) teniendo
- B) habiendo
- C) haciendo
- D) podiendo
What is the past participle of tener?
- A) habido
- B) hecho
- C) podido
- D) tenido
What does tener mean in English?
- A) to do
- B) to can
- C) to have
Answer key
- D) tengo — the yo form of tener in the present indicative is tengo. The other options (tienes, tiene, tenemos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) tuvo — the él/ella/Ud. form of tener in the preterite is tuvo. The other options (tuve, tuviste, tuvimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) teníamos — the nosotros/as form of tener in the imperfect is teníamos. The other options (tenía, tenías, tenía) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) tendrás — the tú form of tener in the future is tendrás. The other options (tendré, tendrá, tendremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) tendría — the yo form of tener in the conditional is tendría. The other options (tendrías, tendría, tendríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) tenga — the él/ella/Ud. form of tener in the present subjunctive is tenga. The other options (tenga, tengas, tengamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) tuviera — the yo form of tener in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is tuviera. The other options (tuvieras, tuviera, tuviéramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) teniendo — the gerund of tener is teniendo; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) tenido — the past participle of tener is tenido; perfect tenses use haber + tenido. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to have — tener means “to have” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does tener mean in English?
tener means “to have”. You use it for possession and ownership, for age and physical states, and for obligations with tener que + infinitive. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is tener regular or irregular?
tener is irregular — stem-changing (e → ie), and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is teniendo and the past participle is tenido.
What are the gerund and past participle of tener?
The gerund is teniendo — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is tenido — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he tenido (I have had).
What is the difference between tener and haber?
Tener means to possess; haber is the auxiliary used in perfect tenses. If you are unsure, check the full table for haber and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I have” in Spanish?
Say “Yo tengo dos hermanos.” — “I have two brothers every day.” The yo form of the present is tengo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- tener in the preterite tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- tener examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Spanish irregular verbs — every common irregular Spanish verb, grouped by pattern.
- Haber conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Hacer conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Poder conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular verbs.
- Preterite tense guide — how the preterite works, and when to choose it over the imperfect.
- Verb Conjugator — practise tener with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise tener with the interactive tool.
- Preterite Vs Imperfect — practise tener with the interactive tool.