Spanish Tener Idioms
An idiom is an expression that cannot be immediately understood by analyzing its literal meaning. There are many idiomatic expressions with tener. In our previous lesson we learned all about the verb TENER (Tener Module) and its special spelling rules. As a quick review, let’s take a look at its conjugation chart below:
TENER = To have
| Yo tengo – I have | Nosotros(as) temenos – We have |
| Tú tienes – You (informal) have | Vosotros(as) tenéis – You all have |
| Él tiene – He has Ella tiene – She has Usted tiene – You (formal) have | Ellos tienen – They have Ellas tienen – They have Ustedes tienen – You all have |
Now, how do we use tener with idioms…?
Today we’re going to dive deeper into the verb TENER by discussing its idioms. Tener Idioms are phrases that change the meaning of the verb TENER when paired together. When we use these idioms, we will conjugate the verb tener just as we would if it stood alone. Check out the list of common TENER IDIOMS below!
| Tener _____ años = To be _____ years old. (Yo tengo 15 años = I am 15 years old) Tener + que + infinitive (unchanged form of a verb) = To have to (Tengo que trabajar = I have to work) Tener + ganas de + infinitive = To feel like ______ (Tienen ganas de nadar = They feel like swimming) Tener hambre = To be hungry (Tenemos hambre = We are hungry) Tener sed = To be thirsty (Ella tiene sed = She is thirsty) Tener prisa = To be in a hurry (Tenemos prisa = We are in a hurry) Tener calor/frío = To be hot/cold (En el Sur siempre tenemos calor = In the South we are always hot) |
