¡Hola y bienvenidos! ¡Por fin, el verano ha llegado! (Finally, summer has arrived!)
I don’t know where the idea came from that summer is relaxed and leisurely, with plenty of time to read books and dream the days away. For many of us who love this season, it’s a time to cram in as many activities as possible while the weather is warm and sunny.
While I was thinking about the things I need to do, and how that compares with the things I actually want to do, some Spanish phrases popped into my head (yes, that happens often when you’re a Spanish teacher). So today we’re going to learn some phrases using the irregular verb tener. Don’t panic at the thought of an irregular verb. As happens with many irregular verbs in Spanish, they are used so often that the irregular conjugations are quickly memorized. Tener is not only irregular but it is used in many idiomatic expressions (modismos), which is to say this handy little verb is everywhere.
Here is the conjugation:
Tener (ten-air): to have
yo tengo (ten-goh) nosotros/as tenemos (ten-a-mohs)
tú tienes (tee-en-ace) vosotros/as tenéis (ten-a-eese)
él, ella, usted tiene (tee-en-a) ellos/as, ustedes tienen (tee-en-en)
There’s no way to figure this conjugation out, you simply have to memorize it. When I was learning verb conjugations I would just repeat the forms in order in my head: tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen. It may sound silly, but it’s a great thing to do while you’re standing in line at the bank or the grocery store or sitting in traffic. You’ll be surprised how well you remember the forms after you’ve done this a dozen times.
I. How do we use tener? The simplest way is to talk about what one has or doesn’t have:
Tengo dos gatos: I have two cats
¿Tienes una familia grande?: Do you have a large family?
Marta no tiene un trabajo bueno: Marta doesn’t have a good job.
In this context tener is just as easy to use as any other verb.
II. Now we come to the first idiomatic use of tener: to talk about age. In Spanish, you can’t be 25 years old, but you can have 25 years of age. And that’s where tener comes in:
¿Cúantos años tiene usted?: Literally, “how many years to you have?” But since we don’t say that in English, we have to translate it in a way that makes sense: “how old are you?”
Tengo treinta y dos años: Literally, “I have 32 years”, or “I’m 32”.
Not difficult, you just have to remember to use tener, not ser, when talking about age.
III. Here’s where we use tener to talk about what we have or don’t have to do. There’s a very easy formula: tener + que + infinitive. You simply conjugate tener to match the subject, add que and an infinitive, and off you go:
Tengo que ir a la oficina esta tarde: I have to go to the office this afternoon.
Elena no tiene que estudiar. Elena doesn’t have to study.
Tenemos que limpar la casa. We have to clean the house.
¿Qué tienes que hacer hoy? What do you have to do today?
¿Tiene que manejar Raúl? Does Raúl have to drive?
IV. Now we get to talk about what we feel like or don’t feel like doing. And yes, there’s another formula: tener ganas de + infinitive. Again just conjugate tener then add ganas de and an infinitive. I think you’re getting the hang of it!
Tengo ganas de ir al cine: I feel like going to the movies.
Teresa no tiene ganas de salir: Teresa doesn’t feel like going out.
¿Qué tienes ganas de hacer mañana? What do you feel like doing tomorrow?
No tenemos ganas de cocinar: We don’t feel like cooking.
And that's it! With one verb conjugation you can now say:
• what someone has or doesn’t have
• how old someone is
• what someone has to or doesn’t have to do
• what someone feels like or doesn’t feel like doing
These tener phrases will come in handy when making plans for what you have to do and what you feel like doing this summer. In fact, when making your to-do list, consider doing it in Spanish!
Today’s link: http://www.forvo.com/languages/
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