¡Hola a todos!

I hope you have enjoyed a very nice Christmas and eaten and drunk far too much. I hope you are also keeping up the practice with your Spanish studies and using some of the things we have already learned together.

In our previous beginner´s lesson, we covered some vocabulary about the family and looked at el verbo “Ser” – the verb “To be”. To follow on, today we are going to see the verb “To have” – el verbo “Tener” – and how to use it in relation to the family.

Tener: To have:

(Yo) tengo: I have
(Tú) tienes: You have (friendly)
(Usted) tiene: You have (formal)
(Él) tiene: He has
(Ella) tiene: She has
(Nosotros/as) tenemos: We have
(Vosotros/as) teneis: You have (group/friendly)
(Ustedes) tienen: You have (group/formal)
(Ellos/ellas) tienen: They have

No tengo: I haven´t got
No tienes: You haven´t got

It is important to know that in Spanish we use the verb “To have” to say our age. So if you want to ask how old someone is you will say:

¿Cuántos años tienes?: How many years have you got? / How old are you
Tengo treinta años: I have thirty years / I am thirty years old

Let´s see more now about the Spanish verb “Tener” (To have) in relation to the family:

¿Cuántos / cuántas: How many?
¿Cuántos hijos tienes? : How many children have you got?
¿Cuántas hijas tienes? : How many daughters have you got?
¿Cuántos años tienes?: How old are you?
¿Tienes hijos?: Have you got any children? (friendly)
¿Tiene hijos?: Have you got any children? (formal)
Tengo una hija: I have a daughter
Lola tiene tres primos: Lola has three cousins
¿Tenéis hijos?:Have you got any children? (group/friendly)
¿Tienen hijos?:Have you got any children? (group/formal)
Tenemos tres hijos: We have three children
Lola y Ramón tienen seis nietos: Lola and Ramón have six grandchildren
Pero: But

This is all for today, I hope you enjoyed the lesson. If you practice what you have learned today alongside the information taught in the last beginners video, where I explained the verb “To be” and introduced some useful family vocabulary, you will be able to say quite a lot about your family and ask about the families of others. Try to write a few paragraphs about your family using the verb “To be” and the verb “To have”. You will realise then how much you already know.

Have a great week and a very Happy New Year!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!