tener imperfect tense conjugation
Tener (to have) in the imperfect tense: tenía, tenías, tenía, teníamos, teníais, tenían.
Pretérito imperfecto Imperfect
| yo | |
|---|---|
| tú | |
| él/ella/usted | |
| nosotros | |
| vosotros | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the imperfect tense
The imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions (“was doing”), descriptions, age and time. “Cuando era niño, vivía en Sevilla.”
How it is formed
Regular endings: -ar → aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban; -er/-ir → ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían. Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).
Tener is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: Preterite vs imperfect: when to use each
Tener in a sentence
- Tengo dos hermanos.I have two brothers.
- Tendremos una reunión mañana.We will have a meeting tomorrow.
Stem-changing (e→ie) and irregular yo form 'tengo'; used in expressions like 'tener hambre'.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of tener?
Tener in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo tenía, tú tenías, él/ella/usted tenía, nosotros teníamos, vosotros teníais, ellos/ellas/ustedes tenían.
Is tener irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense tener takes the regular endings for its verb class, so tenía follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the Spanish imperfect tense?
The imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions (“was doing”), descriptions, age and time. “Cuando era niño, vivía en Sevilla.”
How is the imperfect tense formed?
Regular endings: -ar → aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban; -er/-ir → ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían. Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).
Full tener conjugation, all tenses →
Drill it with flashcards →