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expressions with tener - preterite and imperfect


Gramática
The verb tener has many uses in the preterite and imperfect:

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 feel like drinking something.

Gramática
The verb tener is also used
in many other expressions:

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.

Gramática
We can use tener with que to express have to
Sentences are formed using the formula below:

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.

Sentences with "tener"
Ella tenía éxito en la escuela. - She had success in school.
Manuel tenía cuidado. - Manuel was careful.
El rey no tenía cuidado con el pueblo. - The king was not careful with the people.

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.
Más vale tenía suerte que armas. - It was better to have luck than to have guns.

Teníamos vergüenza. - We were embarrassed.
Alicia no tenía vergüenza. - Alicia was not ashamed.
No teníamos vergüenza. - We were not ashamed.
Teníamos vergüenza de nuestros políticos. - We were ashamed of our politicians.

Sentences with "tener+que+infinitivo"
Tenía que comer ensalada. - I had to eat salad.
Tenía que tomar clases en el verano. - I had to take classes in the summer.
Ella tenía que ir a caminar. - She had to go for a walk.
Ella tenía que bailar el viernes. - She had to dance on Friday.
Teníamos que ir al cine. - We had to go to the movies.
Teníamos que comer tarde. - We had to eat late.
Ellos tenían que ayudar a su hermano. - They had to help their brother.
Ellas tenían que ayudar a madre. - They had to help their mother.
Él tenía que salir temprano. - He had to leave early.
Él tenía que llegar a las diez de la mañana. - He had to arrive at 10:00 AM

Notas para el Tutor

  • Que el estudiante revise los usos del verbo "tener".
  • Que el estudiante sea introducido a las expresiones con el verbo "tener".
  • Que el estudiante practique nuevas oracionescon tener+que+infinitivo
  • Que el estudiante repita estas oraciones simples para practicar y mejorar su pronunciación
  • Tarea sugerida: que el estudiante haga 10 oraciones utilizando tener.



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