Elma Eagles  

 

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Grammar Summary

Spanish 1 Unidad 1 Etapa 3

Saying What You Have:  The Verb tener

Tener means "to have."  It has the same uses in Spanish as in English, that is to say what is yours, as in "I have a red car" = Tengo un carro rojo.  Tener also has some "idiomatic" uses.  An "idiomatic expression" is one in which the actual meaning is different from the literal meaning.  For example, in English we say "I am 16 years old."   In Spanish we say "I have 16 years" = Tengo 16 años.

Tener is also used in several other idiomatic expressions that you will learn later, such as "I am cold, I am hungry and I am afraid."

The verb tener is what is called an "irregular verb."  That means that its conjugation does not follow the regular pattern of dropping the ending er and adding other endings.  Tener adds the endings, but it also has spelling changes when it is conjugated:

I have = tengo

 We have = tenemos
You (fam.) have = tienes You (pl. fam.) have = tenéis
He/she/you (formal) have = tiene They, you (pl) have = tienen

Expressing Possession

In English, we express possession by adding 's to the noun  that refers to the possessor.  In Spanish, we use the preposition de (" of ") with the noun or pronoun that refers to the possessor.  It's Paco's car = Es el carro de Paco (It is the car of Paco). It's his car = Es el carro de él (It is the car of him).

We can also express possession with a possessive adjective, like "my" or "your."  Remember that in Spanish, adjectives must agree in number and gender with the noun they describe (Él es nuestro abuelo.  Ella es nuestra abuela.)

Singular Possessive Adjectives Plural Possessive Adjectives
my = mi my = mis
your (fam.) = tu your (fam.) = tus
his, her, its, your (formal) = su his, her, its, your (formal) = sus
our = nuestro/nuestra our = nuestros/nuestras
your (pl. fam) = vuestro/vuestra your (pl. fam) = vuestros/vuestras
your (pl) / their = su your (pl) / their = sus

Giving Dates:  Day and Month

Use the following phrase:

   Es el + number + de + month  (It is the 6th of June = Es el 6 de junio)

  The only date that does not follow this pattern is the first of the month.   Instead of saying in Spanish "It is the one of June," we say "It is the first of June," just as we do in English.  Es el primero de junio.  Notice that the names of months are not capitalized in Spanish.