Tener Conjugation | How to Conjugate Tener in Spanish

If you’re learning Spanish, chances are you have come across the verb tener quite a few times. This is one of the most used verbs in Spanish and you’ll find it useful to describe a variety of situations. In this article, I’ll show you how to conjugate the verb tener in different tenses and give you example sentences to practice. Let’s jump right in!

The verb tener in Spanish most literally means “to have.” It’s used to talk about possessions, emotions or feelings, someone’s age, and physical characteristics. In some of these cases, tener can also be used as the verb to be. For example, the common expression “Be careful!” uses the verb tener in Spanish: “¡Ten cuidado!”.

In this article, we’ll focus on the main meaning: to have. Like many commonly used Spanish verbs, tener is irregular. It doesn’t follow a specific conjugation pattern, so you’ll need to learn its different conjugations. But don’t worry, once you see how useful this verb can be, you’ll learn how to use it in no time!

The table below shows you the three main conjugation forms of the verb tener: the infinitive, the gerund, and the past participle.

Here are three example sentences that use the conjugations of tener from the table above:

• Infinitive: Es bueno tener esperanza. (It’s good to have hope.)
• Gerund: Estoy teniendo un año dificil. (I am having a tough year.)
• Past Participle: He tenido muchas mascotas en mi vida. (I’ve had many pets in my life.)

You’ve now learned the three main conjugations for tener, but let’s take a look at all of its different tenses. Click on the tense to see tener conjugated in it:

How to Conjugate Tener in Indicative Tense

Tener is most commonly used in tenses that belong to the indicative mood. This mood helps us describe events or situations as they are, focusing on facts. It’s also helpful when asking questions. This mood has the following tenses: indicative present, indicative future, indicative preterite, indicative imperfect, and indicative conditional.

Indicative Present

Of all the indicative forms of tener, you may find yourself using the indicative present the most. This tense helps us talk about an action or event that is happening now or in the near future. We also use it to express statements, absolute truths, or to describe routines.

In the following table, you can see a conjugation chart for ver in this present tense form:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Tengo	I have
Tú	Tienes	You have
Vos	Tenés	You have
Él/Ella/Usted	Tiene	He/She has, You have
Nosotros	Tenemos	We have
Vosotros	Tenéis	You have
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Tienen	They have, You have

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate tener in the indicative tense:

• Tengo una cena importante esta noche. (I have an important dinner tonight.)
• Tenemos que irnos temprano. (We have to go early.)
• ¿Tenéis tareas para mañana? (Do you have homework for tomorrow?)

Return to Conjugation Table

Indicative Future

We use the indicative future to talk about something that will happen later in time. It also helps us describe predictions or plans for the future. You’ll find that this verb form of tener is one of its most commonly used future tenses.

Below is a conjugation chart for the indicative future tense of tener:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Tendré	I will have
Tú	Tendrás	You will have
Vos	Tendrás	You will have
Él/Ella/Usted	Tendrá	He/She/You will have
Nosotros	Tendremos	We will have
Vosotros	Tendréis	You will have
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Tendrán	They will have, You will have

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate tener in the indicative future tense:

• En unos