tener
See also: Tener and téner
Aragonese
Etymology
From Latin tenēre, present active infinitive of teneō.
Verb
tener
- to have, hold
Asturian
Etymology
From Latin tenēre, present active infinitive of teneō.
Verb
tener
- have got, to have
- to have to (indicates necessity)
Conjugation
Conjugation of tener
| infinitive | tener | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gerundive | teniendo | ||||||
| participle | m teniú, f tenida, n tenío, m pl teníos, f pl teníes | ||||||
| person | first singular yo | second singular tu | third singular él/elli | first plural nosotros/nós | second plural vosotros/vós | third plural ellos | |
| indicative | present | tengo/teo/to | tienes | tien | tenemos | tenéis | tienen |
| preterite imperfect | tenía | teníes | tenía | teníamos/teníemos | teníais/teníeis | teníen | |
| preterite indefinite | tevi/tuvi | tuviesti/tuvisti | tevo/tuvo | tuviemos/tuvimos | tuviestis/tuvistis | tuvieron | |
| pluperfect | tuviera/tuviere | tuvieras/tuvieres | tuviera/tuviere | tuviéramos/tuviéremos | tuvierais/tuviereis | tuvieran/tuvieren | |
| subjunctive | present | tenga | tengas | tenga | tengamos | tengáis | tengan |
| preterite imperfect | tuviera/tuviere | tuvieras/tuvieres | tuviera/tuviere | tuviéramos/tuviéremos | tuvierais/tuviereis | tuvieran/tuvieren | |
| potential | future | tendré | tendrás | tendrá | tendremos | tendréis | tendrán |
| conditional | tendría | tendríes | tendría | tendríamos/tendríemos | tendríais/tendríeis | tendríen | |
| imperative | ten | tenéi | |||||
- Reference http://www.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu/gramatica_llingua.pdf
Bikol Central
Alternative forms
- tinir
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish tener.
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: te‧ner
- IPA(key): /teˈneɾ/
Verb
tenér
- to stay; to remain
Derived terms
- magtener
Related terms
- tenedor
Interlingua
Verb
tener
- to hold
Conjugation
Conjugation of tener
| infinitive | tener | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| participle | present | perfect | |
| tenente | tenite | ||
| active | simple | perfect | |
| present | tene | ha tenite | |
| past | teneva | habeva tenite | |
| future | tenera | habera tenite | |
| conditional | tenerea | haberea tenite | |
| imperative | tene | ||
| passive | simple | perfect | |
| present | es tenite | ha essite tenite | |
| past | esseva tenite | habeva essite tenite | |
| future | essera tenite | habera essite tenite | |
| conditional | esserea tenite | haberea essite tenite | |
| imperative | sia tenite | ||
Italian
Verb
tener (apocopated)
- Apocopic form of tenere
Latin
Etymology
Disputed; either:
- From Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch, draw”). Cognates would include Ancient Greek τείνω (teínō), Sanskrit तनोति (tanóti) and Old English þennan. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
- Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ter- (“soft, weak, tender; young, small”) with dissimilation or metathesis: according to M. de Vaan, from Proto-Italic *terenos along with Sabine terenum (“soft”). Further cognates would include Epic Greek τέρην (térēn, “soft, gentle”), Old Armenian թոռն (tʿoṙn, “grandchild”), Middle Armenian թարմ (tʿarm, “fresh”) and Sanskrit तरुण (táruṇa, “young, tender, juvenile”), तर्ण (tárṇa, “calf”).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈte.ner/, [ˈt̪ɛnɛr]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈte.ner/, [ˈt̪ɛːner]
Adjective
tener (feminine tenera, neuter tenerum, comparative tenerior, superlative tenerrimus, adverb tenerē); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)
- soft, delicate, tender
- young, youthful
- effeminate, sensitive
- (poetic) erotic
Declension
First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er).
| Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | tener | tenera | tenerum | tenerī | tenerae | tenera | |
| Genitive | tenerī | tenerae | tenerī | tenerōrum | tenerārum | tenerōrum | |
| Dative | tenerō | tenerō | tenerīs | ||||
| Accusative | tenerum | teneram | tenerum | tenerōs | tenerās | tenera | |
| Ablative | tenerō | tenerā | tenerō | tenerīs | |||
| Vocative | tener | tenera | tenerum | tenerī | tenerae | tenera | |
Derived terms
- tenellulus
- tenerāscō
- tenerē
- teneritās
Descendants
- Balkan Romance:
- Aromanian: tinir, tiniru, tinãr
- Romanian: tânăr
- Italo-Romance:
- Italian: tenero
- Sicilian: tènniru, tènnuru
- Padanian:
- Friulian: tenar
- Ligurian: tégno, ténio
- Lombard: tender, tendro
- Piedmontese: tënner
- Romansch: tener, tegnair
- Venetian: tènaro, tèndro, tènero
- Northern Gallo-Romance:
- Old French: tendre
- French: tendre
- → Middle English: tender
- English: tender
- Old French: tendre
- Southern Gallo-Romance:
- Catalan: tendre
- Occitan: tendre
- Gascon: tenhèr, trende
- Languedocien: tenre
- Ibero-Romance:
- Asturian: tienru
- Galician: tenro
- Portuguese: terno, tenro
- Spanish: tierno
- Borrowings:
- → Proto-Brythonic: *tɨner
- Breton: tener
- Welsh: tyner
- → Proto-Brythonic: *tɨner
References
- De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “tener, -a, -um”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 613
Further reading
- “tener”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “tener”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- tener in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- (ambiguous) to be confined to one's bed: lecto teneri
- (ambiguous) to be in gross error, seriously misled: magno errore teneri
- (ambiguous) to be enamoured of philosophy: philosophiae (sapientiae) studio teneri (Acad. 1. 2. 4)
- (ambiguous) to cherish a hope: spe duci, niti, teneri
- (ambiguous) to long for a thing, yearn for it: desiderio alicuius rei teneri, affici (more strongly flagrare, incensum esse)
- (ambiguous) to be bound by one's word; to be on one's honour: fide obstrictum teneri (Pis. 13. 29)
- (ambiguous) to have an inclination for a thing: studio alicuius rei teneri
- (ambiguous) to be bound by oath: iureiurando teneri (Off. 3. 27. 100)
- (ambiguous) to be the slave of superstition: superstitione teneri, constrictum esse, obligatum esse
- (ambiguous) to be bound by a law: lege teneri
- (ambiguous) to be convicted by some one's evidence: testibus teneri, convictum esse
- (ambiguous) to be confined to one's bed: lecto teneri
Romansch
Etymology 1
From Latin tener, tenerum.
Adjective
tener m (feminine singular tenra, masculine plural teners, feminine plural tenras)
- tender
Etymology 2
From Latin teneō, tenēre.
Verb
tener
- (Sursilvan) to hold, keep
Alternative forms
- (Rumantsch Grischun) tegnair
- (Sutsilvan) taner
- (Surmiran) tigneir
- (Puter, Vallader) tgnair
Derived terms
- tenercasa
- tener cumpignia
- tener distanza
- tener ils polischs
- tener ora
- tener plaid
- tener quen
- tener si
Spanish
Etymology
Inherited from Latin tenēre, teneō (“hold, keep, have”), from Proto-Italic *tenēō, stative from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch, draw”). The preterite forms in tuv- are from contamination with those of the near-synonymous haber, hub-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /teˈneɾ/ [t̪eˈneɾ]
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -eɾ
- Syllabification: te‧ner
Verb
tener (first-person singular present tengo, first-person singular preterite tuve, past participle tenido)
- (transitive, literally) to have, possess
- Ella tiene seis hermanos. ― She has six brothers.
- Tengo una pluma. ― I have a pen.
- Synonym: poseer
- (transitive) to have, possess, to be (a condition or quality)
- Usted tiene suerte. ― You are lucky. (literally, “You have luck.”)
- ¡Ten cuidado! ― Be careful! (literally, “Have care!”)
- ¿Quién tiene razón? ― Who is right? (literally, “Who has reason?”)
- (transitive) to hold, grasp
- Ten esto. ― Hold this.
- (transitive) to contain, to hold (e.g. to "hold the power to", "hold the key", "hold a clue", "hold the truth", "have a hold on", "hold in store", "hold all the cards", "hold in high regard", etc.)
- Este tarro tiene las cenizas. ― This jar contains the ashes.
- El estadio es enorme. Puede tener una capacidad de hasta cien mil espectadores.
- The stadium is huge. It can hold up to one hundred thousand spectators.
- Solía pensar que ese libro tenía todas las respuestas.
- I used to think that book held all the answers.
- (transitive) to have, feel (internally)
- Él le tiene mucho cariño a ella. ― He has much admiration for her.
- Tengo frío. ― I feel cold.
- Tenemos hambre. ― We are hungry. (literally, “We have hunger.”)
- (transitive) to make to feel
- Eso nos tiene tristes. ― That makes us sad.
- (transitive) to have (a measure or age)
- Tiene tres metros de ancho. ― It is three metres wide. (literally, “It has three metres of width.”)
- Tengo veinte años. ― I am twenty years (old). (literally, “I have twenty years.”)
- (used with que) to have to
- Tengo que salir ahora. ― I have to leave now.
- to get (e.g. to get a minute, to get an idea, to get a chance, to get a concussion/bruise/headache, to get in an accident, to get a place, to get a view of, to get a meeting, to get a vision, etc.)
- Ese cadete necesita tenerlo bajo control. ― That cadet needs to get it under control.
- to keep, to bear (in certain phrases; e.g. to bear in mind, bear a resemblance, keep a journal/diary, keep around something or someone)
- Ten en cuenta que es más difícil de volver a subir al cañón que descenderlo.
- Keep in mind that it's more difficult to go back up the canyon than to go down it.
- Pronto voy a comprobar sus billetes, así que ténganlos a manos.
- I will soon be checking your tickets, so keep them handy.
- Ella tuvo diez hijos, todos partos naturales. ― She bore ten children, all natural births.
- to make (in a few select phrases)
- Ahora todo tiene sentido. ― Now everything makes sense.
- (reflexive) to be taken (usually has deber for an auxiliary verb when used)
Usage notes
Tener does not use the personal "a".
In the sense (to feel): tener is often used with nouns like calor (“heat”), frío (“cold”), hambre (“hunger”), sed (“thirst”), to indicate states; English would use adjectives instead
- Tengo hambre ― I'm hungry (literally, “I have hunger”)
- Tengo miedo ― I'm scared (literally, “I have fear”)
Conjugation
Conjugation of tener (irregular; e-ie alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)
| infinitive | tener | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gerund | teniendo | ||||||
| past participle | masculine | feminine | |||||
| singular | tenido | tenida | |||||
| plural | tenidos | tenidas | |||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | ||
| indicative | yo | tú vos | él/ella/ello usted | nosotros nosotras | vosotros vosotras | ellos/ellas ustedes | |
| present | tengo | tienestú tenésvos | tiene | tenemos | tenéis | tienen | |
| imperfect | tenía | tenías | tenía | teníamos | teníais | tenían | |
| preterite | tuve | tuviste | tuvo | tuvimos | tuvisteis | tuvieron | |
| future | tendré | tendrás | tendrá | tendremos | tendréis | tendrán | |
| conditional | tendría | tendrías | tendría | tendríamos | tendríais | tendrían | |
| subjunctive | yo | tú vos | él/ella/ello usted | nosotros nosotras | vosotros vosotras | ellos/ellas ustedes | |
| present | tenga | tengastú tengásvos2 | tenga | tengamos | tengáis | tengan | |
| imperfect (ra) | tuviera | tuvieras | tuviera | tuviéramos | tuvierais | tuvieran | |
| imperfect (se) | tuviese | tuvieses | tuviese | tuviésemos | tuvieseis | tuviesen | |
| future1 | tuviere | tuvieres | tuviere | tuviéremos | tuviereis | tuvieren | |
| imperative | — | tú vos | usted | nosotros nosotras | vosotros vosotras | ustedes | |
| affirmative | tentú tenévos | tenga | tengamos | tened | tengan | ||
| negative | no tengas | no tenga | no tengamos | no tengáis | no tengan | ||
1Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
2Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
Selected combined forms of tener (irregular; e-ie alternation)
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.
| singular | plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | ||
| with infinitive tener | |||||||
| dative | tenerme | tenerte | tenerle, tenerse | tenernos | teneros | tenerles, tenerse | |
| accusative | tenerme | tenerte | tenerlo, tenerla, tenerse | tenernos | teneros | tenerlos, tenerlas, tenerse | |
| with gerund teniendo | |||||||
| dative | teniéndome | teniéndote | teniéndole, teniéndose | teniéndonos | teniéndoos | teniéndoles, teniéndose | |
| accusative | teniéndome | teniéndote | teniéndolo, teniéndola, teniéndose | teniéndonos | teniéndoos | teniéndolos, teniéndolas, teniéndose | |
| with informal second-person singular tú imperative ten | |||||||
| dative | tenme | tente | tenle | tennos | not used | tenles | |
| accusative | tenme | tente | tenlo, tenla | tennos | not used | tenlos, tenlas | |
| with informal second-person singular vos imperative tené | |||||||
| dative | teneme | tenete | tenele | tenenos | not used | teneles | |
| accusative | teneme | tenete | tenelo, tenela | tenenos | not used | tenelos, tenelas | |
| with formal second-person singular imperative tenga | |||||||
| dative | téngame | not used | téngale, téngase | ténganos | not used | téngales | |
| accusative | téngame | not used | téngalo, téngala, téngase | ténganos | not used | téngalos, téngalas | |
| with first-person plural imperative tengamos | |||||||
| dative | not used | tengámoste | tengámosle | tengámonos | tengámoos | tengámosles | |
| accusative | not used | tengámoste | tengámoslo, tengámosla | tengámonos | tengámoos | tengámoslos, tengámoslas | |
| with informal second-person plural imperative tened | |||||||
| dative | tenedme | not used | tenedle | tenednos | teneos | tenedles | |
| accusative | tenedme | not used | tenedlo, tenedla | tenednos | teneos | tenedlos, tenedlas | |
| with formal second-person plural imperative tengan | |||||||
| dative | ténganme | not used | ténganle | téngannos | not used | ténganles, ténganse | |
| accusative | ténganme | not used | ténganlo, ténganla | téngannos | not used | ténganlos, ténganlas, ténganse | |
Derived terms
- nadar y tener la ropa
- no tener ánimos (“to not feel like, to not be in the mood for”)
- no tener arreglo (“to be beyond repair”)
- no tener cabida en (“to have no place for, to have no room for”) (figuratively)
- qué tienes
- tenedero
- tenedor
- tener a bien
- tener acceso
- tener algo que ver con
- tener antecedentes (“to have a record”) (penology)
- tener en cuenta
- tener en mente
- tener ganas de
- tenerlos bien puestos
- tener los labios sellados
- tenerlos puestos
- tener lugar
- tener por
- tener prioridad (“to take precedence, to take priority, to be given priority”)
- tener puesto
- tener que
- tener razón
- tener sentido
- teniente
Related terms
- abstener (“to abstain”)
- atener (“to maintain”)
- contener (“to contain”)
- detener (“to detain”)
- entretener (“to entertain”)
- mantener (“to maintain”)
- manutener (“to maintain”)
- obtener (“to obtain”)
- retener (“to retain”)
- sostener (“to sustain”)
- tenis
- tenor
See also
- haber
Further reading
- “tener”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014