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5.31: Verbos tener y venir

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    Objetivos

    Recognize and understand the use of the irregular verbs tener and venir

    Verbos tener (tener + que) y venir

    The verbs tener (to have) and venir (to come) are special in the sense that they have an irregular yo form and also have a change of e>ie in their stem.

    Play Audiotener (to have)
    (stem: ten; irregular yo-form; stem-vowel change)
    singular plural
    Play Audioyo tengo Play Audionosotros tenemos
    Play Audiotú tienes Play Audiovosotros tenéis
    Play Audioél tiene
    Play Audioella tiene
    Play Audiousted tiene    		 Play Audioellos tienen
    Play Audioellas tienen
    Play Audioustedes tienen
    Photo of a sign outside a restaurant that says "No tenemos wi-fi HABLEN entre ustedes"
    (Note: “hablar” is in the present subjunctive here because it’s a command. That will come in a later course…)
    Photo of a young man holding a sign that reads "Tienen miedo porque no tenemos miedo"
    miedo = fear, porque = because
    • Play AudioMaría tiene una clase de psicología a las dos de la tarde. (María has a psychology class at 2 p.m.)
    • 
¿Play AudioCuántos lápices tienes en tu mochila? (How many pencils do you have in your backpack?)

    Tener + noun for physical conditions

    There are a number of idiomatic expressions that combine forms of tener with certain nouns to express some physical conditions of people; these are expressed with “to be” in English, so you’ll have to pay close attention to remembering the Spanish way of saying them.

    • Tener calor = to be/feel hot (literally, “to have heat”)
    • Tener frío = to be/feel cold
    • Tener hambre = to be hungry
    • Tener miedo = to be afraid
    • Tener prisa = to be in a hurry
    • Tener sed = to be thirsty
    • Tener vergüenza = to be embarrassed
    • Tener ganas de = to be in the mood for

    Tener años

    To give age in Spanish, use the correct conjugation of the verb tener + number + años:

    • Play Audio¿Cuántos años tienes? (How old are you?)
    • Play AudioTengo 22 años. (I am 22 years old.)
    • Play AudioTengo trece años. (I’m 13.)
    • ¿Cuántos años tiene él? (How old is he?)
    • Play AudioTiene ochenta y siete años. (He’s 87.)
    • Play Audio¿Cuántos años tienen? (How old are they?)

    Note: in English you can leave off “years old” and just say “I’m 22,” but in Spanish you must include the word años.

    The verb tener doesn’t just mean “to have” in the sense of possession: it is also used when we try to convey something that we have to do, following the structure: tener + que + infinitive.

    • Play AudioEste semestre tengo que estudiar mucho. (This semester I have to study a lot.)
    • Play AudioEsteban tiene que hacer la tarea para su clase de literatura. (Esteban has to do the homework for his literature class.)
    • Play AudioNosotros tenemos que hablar con nuestra profesora de español. (We have to speak with our Spanish professor.)

    Venir

    The verb venir means “to come”, and it has the same irregularities as tener when conjugated in the present tense. But it doesn’t have so many idiomatic uses!

    venir (to come)
    (stem: ven; irregular yo-form; stem-vowel change)
    singular plural
    Play Audioyo vengo Play Audionosotros venimos
    Play Audiotú vienes Play Audiovosotros venís
    Play Audioél viene
    Play Audioella viene
    Play Audiousted viene    		 Play Audioellos vienen
    Play Audioellas vienen
    Play Audioustedes vienen
    • Play AudioEllos vienen a la universidad todos los días. (They come to the university every day.)
    • Play Audio¿A qué hora vienes a la clase de español? (At what time do you come to Spanish class?)

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