Learning Spanish One verb at a Time. Tener - to Have/ to Be. Past + Subjunctive. 2

 

Learning Spanish

One Verb at a Time

Tener - to Have, to Be, …

Past: Simple & Imperfect + Imperfect subjunctive.

Simple past, which receives differentnames in Spanish, is reserved for certain actions and this conjugation expresses situations considered completed before the current moment.

Sometimes using the simple past or imperfect doesn’t make a big difference, but in other situations it definitely does. 

In the case of imperfect subjunctive, most of the time it refers to past moments, but can also refers to hypothetical present, opposite to facts situations.

Starting Simple: Tuve, Tuviste, Tuvo, Tuvimos, Tuvieron

• Anoche tuve un sueño muy extraño. Last night, I had a very weird dream.

• ¿Tuviste tiempo para leer el libro que te dije? Did you have time to read the book I told you?

• El año pasado tuvimos la oportunidad de viajar a Europa. Last year, we had the chance / opportunity to travel to Europe

• Ellos tuvieron que cancelar la fiesta por la lluvia. They had to cancel the event due to rain.

 

• ¿Tuviste que comprar leche de nuevo? Did you have to buy  milk again?

• Ellos tuvieron una gran discusión hace unos días. They had an argument a few days ago.

  

• ¿Tuviste que trabajar el sábado? Did you have to work last Saturday?

 

• Mis vecinos tuvieron un accidente de auto, pero no fue grave. My neighbors had a car accident, but it wasn’t serious.

• Tuvimos una reunión muy importante en la mañana. We had a very important meeting in the morning.

Recuerda - Remember

Yo: tuve                                Tú: tuviste                     Él/Ella/Usted: tuvo 

                          

Nosotros: tuvimos    Vosotros/ ustedes: tuvisteis   Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: tuvieron

I: had                                      You: had                       She/ he/ it: had

we: had                                 you(plural): had                   They: had

• These actions took place, started and ended in the past.

Imperfect: Tenía, tenías, teníamos, Tenían

The moment when the action took place is not clear. It is very commonly used even when it is not correct from the point of view of grammar, besides sometimes the difference expressed by both forms of past is a very narrow line and it doesn’t  matter, but however that’s not always the case.

• Cuando era niño, tenía un perro llamado Toby. When I was a kid I had a dog named Toby.

• Todos los días tenía que ir a trabajar temprano. I had to go to work early everyday.

• Ella tenía una hermosa sonrisa. She had a beautiful smile.

• Teníamos muchas ganas de viajar, pero no teníamos dinero. We really wanted to travel, but we didn’t have the money.

• Le Tenías miedo a la oscuridad cuando eras niño? Were you afraid of the dark as a child?

• Ellos tenían una casa muy grande. They had a very large house.

• Laura tenía muchas dudas sobre el futuro. Laura had a lot of doubts.

• ¿Tenías tiempo libre en tu trabajo anterior? Did you have time off from your previous job?

• Ella tenía un gran talento para la música. She had a great talent for music.

• Teníamos una relación muy cercana con nuestros abuelos. We had a very close relationship with our grandparents.

• Tenías muchos amigos en la escuela? Did you have a lot of friends at school?

• Ellos tenían problemas para entender la lección. They were having problems understanding the lesson.

• Yo tenía que cuidar a mis hermanos menores. I used to look after my younger siblings.

• ¿Tenías alguna pregunta sobre el examen? Were you having any questions about the test?

Recuerda - Remember:

• Tenías hambre, te comiste todo. You were hungry, you ate everything.

• Teníamos mucho calor. We were very hot. “We were having so much heat”.

• Mi papá tenía cincuenta años cuando la pandemia. My dad was 50 when the pandemic hit.

The past imperfect is used to talk about actions that were repeated or lasted in the past.

Doubts, Emotions, Hypothetic: Imperfect Subjunctive 

It has two different conjugations, but don’t worry; they both mean the same:

Yo: Tuviera - Tuviese                                   Tú:  Tuvieras - Tuvieses

                               

Nosotros: Tuviéramos - Tuviésemos           Él, Ella, usted: Tuviera - Tuviese

Ustedes: Tuvieran - Tuviesen                      Ellos, ellas: Tuvieran - Tuviesen

• Ojalá tuviera más tiempo para leer. I wish I had more time to read.

• Si tuviéramos dinero, viajaríamos por el mundo. If we had money, we would travel around the world.

• Era importante que tuvieran cuidado con el perro. It was important to be careful with the dog.

• Me gustaría que tuvieras más confianza en ti mismo. I wish you had more self-confidence.

• Esperaba que tuvieras éxito en tu proyecto. I was hoping that you would be successful in your project.

• Temía que tuvieran Covid-19. I was afraid they had Covid-19.

• Te pedí que tuvieras paciencia conmigo. I asked you to be patient with me.

• Aunque tuviera miedo, no lo demostraría. Even if I were afraid, I wouldn’t show it.

• No creo que Manuel no tuviera más dinero. I don’t think Manuel didn’t have more money.

• Sería mejor si tuviéramos vista al mar. It would be better if we had an ocean view.

• ¿Qué harías si tuvieras la oportunidad de cambiar el mundo? What would you do if you had the chance to change the world?

• Ojalá tuviéramos otro presidente. I wish we had a different president.

Recuerda - Remember:

• The imperfect subjunctive is used to talk about actions that were desired, imagined or hypothetical in the past.

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