How to Conjugate Tener in Spanish — All Tenses with Examples
Tener is the third most used verb in Spanish — and one of the most versatile. Beyond its basic meaning of “to have,” it powers a whole family of idiomatic expressions that are completely unrelated to possession: tengo hambre (I’m hungry), tengo miedo (I’m afraid), tengo razón (I’m right), tienes que estudiar (you have to study).
It’s also packed with irregularities. Here’s every key form, fully explained. As with many high-frequency verbs, the challenge is not just recognizing the pattern — it’s producing the right form quickly. That’s exactly why we build VerbPal around active recall, typed answers, and repeated exposure to irregulars until they stick.
Present Tense — Presente
Tener has an irregular yo form (tengo) and a stem change e→ie in all forms except nosotros and vosotros:
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | tengo | Tengo dos hijos. (I have two children.) |
| tú | tienes | ¿Tienes hambre? (Are you hungry?) |
| él/ella | tiene | Tiene veinte años. (He/she is twenty years old.) |
| nosotros | tenemos | Tenemos que salir ya. (We have to leave now.) |
| vosotros | tenéis | ¿Tenéis tiempo? (Do you all have time?) |
| ellos/ellas | tienen | Tienen mucho trabajo. (They have a lot of work.) |
The pattern matters more than the memorized list: tengo is irregular on its own, while tienes / tiene / tienen show the stem change. If you can spot that split, you’ll make fewer mistakes across other verbs too. In VerbPal, our interactive conjugation charts and custom drills make that contrast obvious, so you practice the exception and the stem-changing forms separately instead of blurring them together.
Pro Tip: Say all six present forms out loud, then type them from memory without looking. Pay special attention to the three-way contrast: tengo, tenemos, tenéis.
Preterite Tense — Pretérito Indefinido
The preterite uses the irregular stem tuv- with strong preterite endings:
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | tuve | Tuve un accidente. (I had an accident.) |
| tú | tuviste | ¿Tuviste problemas? (Did you have problems?) |
| él/ella | tuvo | Tuvo que cancelar. (He had to cancel.) |
| nosotros | tuvimos | Tuvimos suerte. (We were lucky.) |
| vosotros | tuvisteis | ¿Tuvisteis tiempo? (Did you all have time?) |
| ellos/ellas | tuvieron | Tuvieron que esperar. (They had to wait.) |
This is one of the forms learners often recognize passively but fail to produce under pressure. The key is to stop thinking of the preterite as a small tweak to tener and treat tuv- as a new stem you need to retrieve instantly. That’s why we recommend drilling irregular preterites as families. In VerbPal, spaced repetition using the SM-2 algorithm keeps forms like tuve and tuvieron coming back right before you’re likely to forget them.
Action step: Write three short past-tense sentences using tuve, tuvo, and tuvimos. Keep them simple and personal so the forms are easier to remember.
Imperfect Tense — Pretérito Imperfecto
Regular imperfect forms for tener:
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | tenía | Tenía mucho miedo. (I was very afraid.) |
| tú | tenías | ¿Cuántos años tenías? (How old were you?) |
| él/ella | tenía | Tenía un perro enorme. (He had a huge dog.) |
| nosotros | teníamos | Teníamos poco dinero. (We had little money.) |
| vosotros | teníais | ¿Teníais coche? (Did you all have a car?) |
| ellos/ellas | tenían | Tenían que trabajar mucho. (They had to work a lot.) |
Unlike the preterite, the imperfect is regular here. That makes it easier — but also easier to confuse with other past forms if you don’t tie it to meaning. Use the imperfect for background, repeated situations, age, and ongoing states in the past.
Action step: Contrast one imperfect sentence with one preterite sentence: Tenía miedo. (I was afraid.) vs. Tuve miedo. (I got scared / I was afraid at that moment.) That comparison will do more for your accuracy than memorizing labels.
Future Tense — Futuro Simple
The future uses the irregular stem tendr-:
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | tendré | Tendré más tiempo la semana que viene. (I’ll have more time next week.) |
| tú | tendrás | Tendrás que decidirte. (You’ll have to decide.) |
| él/ella | tendrá | Tendrá que esperar. (He’ll have to wait.) |
| nosotros | tendremos | Tendremos noticias pronto. (We’ll have news soon.) |
| vosotros | tendréis | ¿Tendréis sitio? (Will you all have room?) |
| ellos/ellas | tendrán | Tendrán que cambiar de plan. (They’ll have to change plans.) |
Future tener is worth learning early because tendr- also appears in the conditional. If you lock in that stem once, you get two tenses for the price of one.
Pro Tip: Memorize the stem first: tendr-. Then add endings. If you can recall the stem instantly, the rest becomes mechanical.
Conditional — Condicional Simple
Same tendr- stem:
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tendría |
| tú | tendrías |
| él/ella | tendría |
| nosotros | tendríamos |
| vosotros | tendríais |
| ellos/ellas | tendrían |
¿Tendrías un momento? (Would you have a moment?) — polite request.
Because the future and conditional share the same irregular stem, they should be studied together, not in isolation. In our VerbPal drills, we often pair related tenses like these so you learn the stem once and practice switching endings accurately.
Action step: Alternate aloud between future and conditional: tendré / tendría, tendrás / tendrías, tendrá / tendría. That side-by-side practice helps prevent tense mix-ups.
Present Subjunctive — Presente de Subjuntivo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tenga |
| tú | tengas |
| él/ella | tenga |
| nosotros | tengamos |
| vosotros | tengáis |
| ellos/ellas | tengan |
Espero que tengas razón. (I hope you’re right.)
Es importante que tengamos paciencia. (It’s important that we have patience.)
The subjunctive form comes from the first-person present tengo, which gives you the stem teng-. This is a useful rule far beyond tener. We cover this pattern across the subjunctive, including irregulars and high-frequency trigger phrases, because learners need more than a chart — they need repeated production in context.
Pro Tip: Build one trigger phrase and swap subjects: Espero que tenga / tengas / tengamos. That is much more effective than memorizing the table cold.
Imperative — Imperativo
| Form | Command |
|---|---|
| tú (affirmative) | ten |
| tú (negative) | no tengas |
| usted | tenga |
| nosotros | tengamos |
| vosotros | tened |
| ustedes | tengan |
Ten cuidado. (Be careful.) Literally: Have care.
Ten paciencia. (Be patient.)
Imperatives are especially useful with tener because many common expressions use them as fixed chunks. Learn the command as a phrase, not just as an isolated form.
Action step: Memorize two high-frequency commands as complete expressions: Ten cuidado. (Be careful.) and Ten paciencia. (Be patient.)
Non-Finite Forms
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | tener |
| Gerund | teniendo |
| Past participle | tenido |
These matter because they appear inside larger structures: voy a tener (I am going to have), está teniendo problemas (he/she is having problems), he tenido suerte (I have had luck / I have been lucky).
Pro Tip: Don’t study non-finite forms alone. Put each one into a short phrase you could actually say.
The Essential Tener Idioms
These expressions don’t translate literally — you need to know them as fixed phrases:
Idioms are where tener becomes truly useful. If you only know the raw conjugation, you’ll still miss a huge amount of everyday Spanish. In VerbPal, we treat these as production targets, not just vocabulary notes, because tengo hambre and tenemos que irnos are the kinds of phrases you need to retrieve instantly in real conversation.
Action step: Pick four idioms from the list and write one sentence for each: Tengo sueño. (I’m sleepy.) Tenemos prisa. (We’re in a hurry.) Keep them short and usable.
Full Conjugation Table
Tener is one of those verbs where the idioms matter as much as the conjugation. Learn the forms — but also learn the fixed expressions. Together, they unlock a huge amount of natural Spanish speech. If you want to make those forms automatic, not just familiar, practice them actively and revisit them consistently. That’s the work we help you do at VerbPal.