to express age Tenía dos años cuando vine a vivir aquí. I was two years old when I came to live here.
to indicate possession Tenía una casa en California. I used to have a house in California.
to indicate obligations Tenía que estudiar mucho. I used to have to study a lot.
to express sensations Tenía mucho calor. I was very hot.
to express a desire to do something Tenía ganas de tomar algo. I felt like drinking something.
tener cuidado - to be careful El tenía mucho cuidado. He was very careful.
tener derecho - to have the right Tenía el derecho de hablar. I had the right to speak.
tener éxito - to be successful Para tener éxito, tenía que estudiar. To succeed, I had to study.
tener la culpa - to be guilty or at fault No tenía la culpa. - It was not my fault.
tener prisa - to be in a hurry Yo tenía prisa. - I was in a hurry.
tener razón - to be right Ella tenía razón. - She was right.
tener suerte - to be lucky El tenía suerte. - He was lucky.
tener vergüenza - to be embarrassed El tenía vergüenza. - He was embarrassed.
tener + que + infinitive = have to
Examples: Tenía que recordar. - I had to remember. Tenía que olvidar. - I had to forget. Tenías que escribir. - You had to write. Tenías que salir. - You had to leave.
Los niños tenían derecho a divertirse. - The children had the right to have fun. Los políticos no tenían derecho a robar. - The politicians did not have the right to steal. Los estudiantes tenían éxito durante su primer año. - The students had success during their first year. Ella tenía éxito promocionando productos. - She was successful promoting products.
¿Quién tenía la culpa? - Who was guilty? Yo no tenía la culpa. - It was not my fault. El no tenía la culpa? - He was not guilty. Todos teníamos la culpa. - We were all guilty.
Ella tenía prisa. - She was in a hurry. No teníamos prisa. - We were not in a hurry. Siempre teníamos prisa. - We were always in a hurry. Ella no tenía prisa por vender su casa. - She was not in a hurry to sell her house.
Tenías razón, es mejor hacer las cosas bien. - You were right, it is better to do things well. Ni Chávez ni Castro tenían razón. - Neither Chávez nor Castro was right. ¡Nosotros teníamos razón! - We were right!
Ella no tenía suerte con los hombres. - She did not have luck with men. El tenía suerte de estar vivo. - He was lucky to be alive.
Teníamos vergüenza. - We were embarrassed. Alicia no tenía vergüenza. - Alicia was not ashamed. No teníamos vergüenza. - We were not ashamed. Teníais vergüenza de vuestros políticos. - You all were ashamed of your politicians.
