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?)

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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 años tendré mi propia casa. (In a few years, I’ll have my own house.)
• Ellos tendrán vacaciones en junio. (They will have vacations in June.)
• Tendremos que esperar dos semanas para que el paquete llegue. (We’ll have to wait two weeks for the package to arrive.)

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Indicative Preterite

The indicative preterite is the most common past tense form of tener. We use it to talk about an action or event that happened at a specific point in the past. It also helps us describe general truths or statements of the past.

Here’s the conjugation chart of tener in indicative preterite tense:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Tuve	I had
Tú	Tuviste	You had
Vos	Tuviste	You had
Él/Ella/Usted	Tuvo	He/She/You had
Nosotros	Tuvimos	We had
Vosotros	Tuvisteis	You had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Tuvieron	They had, You had

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

• Ellos tuvieron dos hijos. (They had two children.)
• Tuvimos que irnos temprano. (We had to leave early.)
• Él tuvo una empresa petrolera. (He had an oil company.)

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Indicative Imperfect

We use the indicative imperfect to describe past actions that were ongoing. This tense also helps us talk about recurrent events from the past or lasting characteristics. Note that this is quite a common form of past tense that you’ll see and use frequently.

In the following table, you can see the indicative imperfect conjugation chart for tener:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Tenía	I had
Tú	Tenías	You had
Vos	Tenías	You had
Él/Ella/Usted	Tenía	He/She/You had
Nosotros	Teníamos	We had
Vosotros	Teníais	You had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Tenían	They had, You had

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

• Ella tenía un perro en la universidad. (She had a dog in college.)
• ¿Sabes si teníamos tarea para hoy? (Do you know if we had homework for today?)
• Ellos tenían el mejor equipo de porristas. (They had the best cheer team.)

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Indicative Conditional

The indicative conditional helps us describe future events that will take place under certain circumstances. We use this verb form of tener to build conditional sentences. You’ll notice this tense being used in phrases with conjunctions like “if” or “when.”

Take a look at the table below to see the conjugation chart for tener in indicative conditional:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Tendría	I would have
Tú	Tendrías	You would have
Vos	Tendrías	You would have
Él/Ella/Usted	Tendría	He/She/You would have
Nosotros	Tendríamos	We would have
Vosotros	Tendríais	You would have
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Tendrían	They would have, You would have

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

• Tendríamos que tener un pasaporte para viajar a Europa. (We would have to have a passport to travel to Europe.)
• Para graduarte tendríais que terminar todas tus clases. (To graduate you would have to finish all of your classes.)
• Para ver el show tendrías que comprar las boletas. (To watch the show you would have to buy the tickets.)

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How to Conjugate Tener in Perfect Tense

All perfect tenses are compound tenses. This means they are made up of a form of the helping verb haber and the past participle form tenido. They help us describe actions that were completed recently or that will be completed in the near future. We’ll take a look at the following perfect tenses: present perfect, future perfect, past perfect, conditional perfect, and preterite perfect

Present Perfect

We use the present perfect to describe past situations that are still connected to the present. For instance, it helps us describe past actions that are ongoing or haven’t been completed yet. It can also help us talk about actions that were completed right before the present.

Below is a conjugation chart for the Spanish verb tener in present perfect:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	He tenido	I have had
Tú	Has tenido	You have had
Vos	Has tenido	You have had
Él/Ella/Usted	Ha tenido	He/She has had, You have had
Nosotros	Hemos tenido	We have had
Vosotros	Habéis tenido	You have had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Han tenido	They have had, You have had

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

• Hemos tenido una reunión productiva esta mañana. (We’ve had a productive meeting this morning.)
• ¿Habéis tenido la oportunidad de revisar el proyecto? (Have you had the chance to check the project?)
• Has tenido un par de días difíciles. (You’ve had a couple of hard days.)

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Future Perfect

The future perfect helps us make guesses of something that will happen in the future. It’s useful when speaking about plans, wishes, or desires. You’ll likely see this verb tense used along with conditional conjunctions.

This is how you conjugate tener in present perfect:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Habré tenido	I will have had
Tú	Habrás tenido	You will have had
Vos	Habrás tenido	You will have had
Él/Ella/Usted	Habrá tenido	He/She/You will have had
Nosotros	Habremos tenido	We will had
Vosotros	Habréis tenido	You will have had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Habrán tenido	They will have had, You will have had

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

• Habré tenido vacaciones antes del próximo año. (I will have had vacations before next year.)
• Para correr una maratón, ellos habrán tenido que superar muchos obstáculos. (To run a marathon, they will have had to overcome many obstacles.)
• Habrán tenido que aprender el nuevo idioma para cuando regresen de intercambio. (They will have had to learn the new language by the time they come back from abroad.)

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Past Perfect (Pluperfect)

We mostly use the past perfect tense to talk about actions that happened before other actions in the past. It’s also helpful when we want to make hypotheses about how the past could have been. This is a fairly common past tense form of tener and you’ll use it often.

In the following table you can see this past tense conjugation of tener:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Había tenido	I had had
Tú	Habías tenido	You had had
Vos	Habías tenido	You had had
Él/Ella/Usted	Había tenido	He/She/You had had
Nosotros	Habíamos tenido	We had had
Vosotros	Habíais tenido	You had had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Habían tenido	They had had, You had had

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

• Había tenido un mal día hasta que tú llegaste. (I’d had a bad day until you arrived.)
• Creo que ellos no habían tenido en cuenta todos los detalles. (I think they hadn’t had in mind all of the details.)
• Habíamos tenido problemas para armar el rompecabezas hasta que nos ayudaste. (We’d had issues putting the puzzle together until you helped us.)

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Conditional Perfect

The conditional perfect tense helps us describe unreal or impossible situations. We use it to talk about past events that could have happened but didn’t or to express possibilities about the past. You’ll find this tense frequently used with conditional conjunctions such as “if.”

This is how you conjugate tener in conditional perfect tense:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Habría tenido	I would have had
Tú	Habrías tenido	You would have had
Vos	Habrías tenido	You would have had
Él/Ella/Usted	Habría tenido	He/She/You would have had
Nosotros	Habríamos tenido	We would have had
Vosotros	Habríais tenido	You would have had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Habrían tenido	They would have had, You would have had

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

• Habría tenido la probabilidad de ganarme la beca si lo hubiera intentado. (I would have had the chance to earn the scholarship if I had tried.)
• Habríamos tenido una mejor relación si supiéramos comunicarnos. (We would have had a better relationship if we knew how to communicate.)
• No habríais tenido problema manejando en Madrid, es una ciudad sencilla de navegar. (You would have had no issues driving in Madrid, it’s a simple city to navigate.)

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Preterite Perfect (Past Anterior)

The preterite perfect tense has practically fallen into disuse in modern Spanish. Its purpose is to express an action that happened before another action or to describe conditionality. You may occasionally find it in academic or law-related literature.

The following is a conjunction chart for tener in this form of past tense:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Hube tenido	I had
Tú	Hubiste tenido	You had
Vos	Hubiste tenido	You had
Él/Ella/Usted	Hubo tenido	He/She/You had
Nosotros	Hubimos tenido	We had
Vosotros	Hubisteis tenido	You had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Hubieron tenido	They had, You had

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

• Cuando hube tenido suficiente dinero, pude comprar el celular que quería. (When I had enough money, I was able to buy the phone I wanted.)
• No descansamos hasta que hubimos tenido la tarea lista. (We didn’t rest until we had our homework ready.)
• Él hubo tenido una infancia feliz. (He had a happy childhood.)

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How to Conjugate Tener in Subjunctive Tense

We use subjunctive tenses to convey subjectivity. They help us express emotions, feelings, plans, theories, or possibilities. The subjunctive tenses of tener all have the same stems: tenga-, tuviere-, or tuviera- with different endings. We’ll go over the present subjunctive, future subjunctive, and imperfect subjunctive.

Present Subjunctive

We use the present subjunctive to talk about present or future events that are not definite. This tense helps us express hypotheses, theories, or wishes of how the future might be. It’s very common to see this verb used in conditional sentences.

Below is a table with the present subjunctive conjugation of tener:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Tenga	I have
Tú	Tengas	You have
Vos	Tengas	You have
Él/Ella/Usted	Tenga	He/She has, You have
Nosotros	Tengamos	We have
Vosotros	Tengáis	You have
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Tengan	They have, You have

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

• Cuando tengan hijos lo entenderán. (When you have children, you’ll understand.)
• ¡Espero que tengan unas felices fiestas! (I hope you have happy holidays!)
• Cuando tenga suficiente dinero, iré a Europa. (When I have enough money, I’ll go to Europe.)

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Future Subjunctive

The future subjunctive helps us describe possibilities for present or future events. It’s used very similarly to the present subjunctive. However, you might only find it in older literature and legal documents, since it’s no longer used in day-to-day Spanish.

This is how to conjugate tener in future subjunctive tense:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Tuviere	I have
Tú	Tuvieres	You have
Vos	Tuvieres	You have
Él/Ella/Usted	Tuviere	He/She has, You have
Nosotros	Tuviéremos	We have
Vosotros	Tuviereis	You have
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Tuvieren	They have, You have

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

• Quien tuviere la salida de emergencía deberá leer el folleto de seguridad. (Whoever has the emergency exit will have to read the security flyer.)
• Nos recomendaron que siempre tuviéremos un mapa con nosotros. (They recommended that we always have a map with us.)
• Es importante que siempre tuvieren sus documentos a la mano. (It’s important that you always have your IDs at hand.)

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Imperfect Subjunctive

While the present subjunctive addresses present or future situations, the imperfect subjunctive refers to the past. We use it to talk about hypotheses or possibilities of what the past could have been. We can also use it to describe actions that would happen under different circumstances.

Below is the tener conjugation chart for the imperfect subjunctive tense:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Tuviera/ Tuviese	I had
Tú	Tuvieras/ Tuvieses	You had
Vos	Tuvieras/ Tuvieses	You had
Él/Ella/Usted	Tuviera/ Tuviese	He/She/You had
Nosotros	Tuviéramos/ Tuviésemos	We had
Vosotros	Tuvierais/ Tuvieseis	You had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Tuvieran/ Tuviesen	They had, You had

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

• Si tuviera un carro te recogería. (If I had a car, I’d pick you up.)
• Aunque tuviesen mucho que hacer, ellos nos ayudarían. (Even if they had a lot to do, they’d help us.)
• Ojalá tuvieras todo lo que sueñas. (I wish you had everything you dream about.)

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How to Conjugate Tener in Perfect Subjunctive Tense

We use perfect subjunctive tenses to speak about past actions that are connected to the present or are ongoing. They also help us describe events or actions that will have happened at a certain point in the future. You’ll notice that all perfect subjunctive tenses are made up of the helping verb haber and the past participle of tener, which is tenido. We’ll take a look at the present perfect subjunctive, future perfect subjunctive, and pluperfect subjunctive.

Present Perfect Subjunctive

The present perfect subjunctive helps us describe an action that was completed before the sentence’s main clause. This can be either in the past or in the future. It can also help us give commands in certain situations.

Below you can see how to conjugate tener in the present perfect subjunctive tense:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Haya tenido	I have had
Tú	Hayas tenido	You have had
Vos	Hayas tenido	You have had
Él/Ella/Usted	Haya tenido	He/She has had, You have had
Nosotros	Hayamos tenido	We have had
Vosotros	Hayáis tenido	You have had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Hayan tenido	They have had, You have had

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate tener in the present perfect subjunctive tense:

• Espero que hayas tenido unas buenas vacaciones. (I hope you’ve had a good vacation.)
• No creo que hayan tenido algo que ver con el incidente. (I don’t think they have had anything to do with the incident.)
• ¡Qué bueno que hayáis tenido la oportunidad de conocer Italia! (It’s so good that you’ve had the chance to visit Italy!)

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Future Perfect Subjunctive

The future perfect subjunctive is one of those tenses that are rarely used nowadays in Spanish. Its purpose is to describe actions that will happen in the future at a given point in time. You’ll occasionally see it in older academic or legal texts.

Let’s take a look at the conjugation chart of tener in this tense below:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Hubiere tenido	I have had
Tú	Hubieres tenido	You have had
Vos	Hubieres tenido	You have had
Él/Ella/Usted	Hubiere tenido	He/She has had, You have had
Nosotros	Hubiéremos tenido	We have had
Vosotros	Hubiereis tenido	You have had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Hubieren tenido	They have had, You have had

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

• No creo que él hubiere tenido una mascota en su vida. (I don’t think he has had a pet in his life.)
• Me alegra que hubiereis tenido una buen fin de semana. (I’m happy you’ve had a good weekend.)
• Espero que no hubieres tenido ningún problema encontrando la dirección. (I hope you haven’t had any issues finding the address.)

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Pluperfect Subjunctive

We use the pluperfect subjunctive to speak about an action that happened before another action in the past. It helps us express wishes, desires, or possibilities of the past. It’s often used to describe what could have or should have been, but wasn’t.

The following is a conjunction chart for tener in pluperfect subjunctive:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Hubiera/ Hubiese tenido	I had had
Tú	Hubieras/ Hubieses tenido	You had had
Vos	Hubieras/ Hubieses tenido	You had had
Él/Ella/Usted	Hubiera/ Hubiese tenido	He/She/You had had
Nosotros	Hubiéramos/ Hubiésemos tenido	We had had
Vosotros	Hubierais/ Hubieseis tenido	You had had
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Hubieran/ Hubiesen tenido	They had had, You had had

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

• Si hubiera tenido la posibilidad, habría estudiado en España. (If I’d had the chance, I would’ve studied in Spain.)
• Ojalá hubieseis tenido más tiempo para visitarnos. (I wish you’d had more time to visit us.)
• Hubiéramos tenido tiempo de hacer el trabajo, pero nos avisaste muy tarde. (We’d had the time to do the work but you let us know too late.)

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How to Conjugate Tener in the Imperative Tense

Similar to English, we mostly use the imperative mood in Spanish to give commands or orders. It also helps us make requests, give recommendations, or even give instructions. You’ll notice that when using this tense in its positive form, we use the conjugated verb tener alone. When using it in its negative form, we add “ o” before the negative conjugation.

This is how you conjugate tener in imperative tense:

Pronoun	Tener Conjugation (Affirmative)	Tener Conjugation (Negative)	English Meaning
Tú	¡Ten!	¡No tengas!	(You) Have/Don’t have!
Vos	¡Tené!	¡No tengás!	(You) Have/Don’t have!
Él/Ella/Usted	¡Tenga!	¡No tenga!	(You) Have/Don’t have!
Nosotros	¡Tengamos!	¡No tengamos!	(Let’s) Have/Don’t have!
Vosotros	¡Tened!	¡No tengáis!	(You) Have/Don’t have!
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	¡Tengan!	¡No tengan!	(You) Have/Don’t have!

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

• ¡Tengamos un perro! (Let’s have a dog!)
• No tengamos un perro con mucho pelo, por favor. (Let’s not have a furry dog, please.)
• Tened un poco de dinero en efectivo cuando visiteis el parque. (Have some cash when you visit the park.)

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Tips for Conjugating Tener Correctly

Conjugating irregular verbs such as tener can seem like a hard task at first. But don’t let that discourage you from your Spanish learning journey! Here are a few tips to help you master the conjugations of tener.

You’ll probably notice soon after starting to learn about the Spanish verb tener that it most often means to have. However, don’t get alarmed if you see tener being used to describe other verbs in English. When talking about emotions or feelings, tener can be translated as “to be” or “to keep.” Tener is an incredibly versatile verb. Once you get to know all of the different ways it’s used, you’ll start using it all the time!

When practicing the different conjugations of tener, try to use them when speaking with native speakers or identify them in conversations, songs, or movies in Spanish. This is a verb that is used in both formal and informal scenarios quite often. The more you identify it in day-to-day Spanish, the easier it’ll become to use and understand it. Here are two common expressions you can use when practicing this verb: “¡Ten cuidado!” which nearly means “Be careful!” and “¡Ten un buen día!” which means “Have a good day!”. You can learn even more common tener expressions here.

Ways to Practice Conjugating Tener

Tener is one of the most commonly used verbs in Spanish, so it’s necessary to learn how to use it. The best way to learn and remember is to practice. Fortunately, there are many ways to practice Spanish no matter how you prefer to learn. One of the most common ways is to use a Spanish language app. They are interactive and can help you learn vocabulary and basic grammar quickly. But if you want more explanation, a self-study book or an online course is a better choice.

However way you choose to learn, it’s important to dedicate the time and effort to master the material. Learning Spanish verb conjugations is often one of the most difficult aspects for English speakers to figure out. But with time and patience, you’ll know all the ways to use tener!

Tener Conjugation FAQ