Español en serio
Haber and tener
Dieser Beitrag erklärt ein wichtiges Thema der spanischen Grammatik (Text auf Englisch).
You will hear many people saying that to have is tener. This statement is inaccurate and misleading. Tener is not always to have, and to have is not always tener.
In many cases, we have the verb to be translated as tener in Spanish. Take a look at these examples. You can see the correct English phrase, how we say it in Spanish, and the literal translation of the Spanish phrase, which is not what we say in English:
- I am 15 years old, tengo 15 años → I have 15 years
- I am hot, tengo calor → I have heat
- I am cold, tengo frío → I have cold
- I am hungry, tengo hambre → I have hunger
- I am thirsty, tengo sed → I have thirst
- I am sleepy, tengo sueño → I have sleep
- I am jealous, tengo celos → I have jealousy
- I am careful, tengo cuidado → I have care
- I am scared, tengo miedo → I have fear
- I am in a hurry, tengo prisa → I have hurry
- I am ashamed, tengo vergüenza → I have shame
- I am successful, tengo éxito → I have success
- I am guilty, tengo la culpa → I have the fault
- I am right, tengo razón → I have reason
- I am lucky, tengo suerte → I have luck
So basically, in English we have to be + adjective (hot, cold, hungry, etc.), whereas in Spanish we have tener + noun (calor, frío, hambre, etc.). Different languages, different grammars. Never forget that.
Historical evolution
To have has two different functions, covered in Spanish by two verbs, haber and tener:
Yo he estudiado historia. I have studied History.
Yo tengo libros de historia. I have History books.
This happens in the vast majority of European languages, for instance:
| German: haben | French: avoir | Italian: avere |
| Portuguese: ter | Romanian: a avea |
Only Spanish has a clear and strict separation between tener (for possession) and haber (as auxiliary or impersonal verb).
🔍 Curious about the origin of these forms? In Latin, the verb “habere” originally meant “to possess”, and you can still see this meaning in the Spanish form “mis haberes” (everything that a person owns or has). In old Spanish, it was very common to say “yo he una casa” meaning what today would be “yo tengo una casa” (I have a house). But our language substituted one verb with the other, and little by little haber was relegated to its function as an auxiliary or impersonal verb, which is clearly explained in blog number 1:
How to use the verb haber in Spanish.
Example from the episode
Constance said to Jason: “No tengo hermanos y tampoco tengo amigos estúpidos como tú”.
You can also read my blog about tener:
The Spanish verb tener.
Read the full episode here →
Episode 3
Bachelor’s degree in Literature (University of Buenos Aires). Spanish and Literature teacher. Researcher and author of Los premios Nobel de literatura. Una lectura crítica (University of Seville). More than 30 years’ experience teaching Spanish to international students.
One-to-one lessons via Zoom.
Contact: laura@spanishforlondon.com
Abschluss in Literaturwissenschaft (Universität Buenos Aires). Lehrerin für Spanisch und Literatur. Forscherin und Autorin des Buches Los premios Nobel de literatura. Eine lectura crítica (Universität Sevilla). Über 30 Jahre Erfahrung im Unterricht von Spanisch als Fremdsprache.
Einzelunterricht über Zoom.
Kontakt: laura@spanishforlondon.com
