01 · The question everyone asks first
¿Cuántos años tienes?
How old are you?
Spanish uses tener for age, not ser — tengo, never soy, 25 años.
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Tener Titan
Say what you have, how old you are and what you're feeling — out loud.
Tener (to have) is irregular: tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tienen — the yo form takes -go and the others shift e→ie. The bigger surprise is where Spanish uses it: for age it's tengo 25 años — literally I have 25 years, never soy 25 años — and for body states it's tener + a noun: tengo hambre, tengo sed, tengo mucho frío. Two more chunks carry half of daily speech: tengo ganas de comer (I feel like eating) and tengo que estudiar (I have to study).
Below: tener's conjugation and each of its everyday jobs, how Mexico and Argentina say them differently, the ser/estar mix-ups to sidestep — and a way to make it automatic by talking, no conjugation tables, no drills.
The warm-up pack
Age, hunger, plans, luck — one irregular verb covers all of it.
01 · The question everyone asks first
¿Cuántos años tienes?
How old are you?
Spanish uses tener for age, not ser — tengo, never soy, 25 años.
02 · Two sensations in one breath
Tengo mucha hambre y un poco de sed.
I'm very hungry and a little thirsty.
Hambre and sed both belong to tener — English says 'I am', Spanish says 'I have'.
03 · What you're looking forward to
Tengo ganas de viajar a México.
I feel like traveling to Mexico.
Tener ganas de + infinitive is how you say you're up for something.
04 · Asking about family
¿Tienes un hermano o una hermana?
Do you have a brother or a sister?
Straightforward possession — the question you'll get asked in almost every first conversation.
05 · Talking about who you've got
Nosotros tenemos una familia grande.
We have a big family.
Same verb as hambre and age — tener covers possession, feelings and numbers all at once.
06 · Saying your age without translating
Tengo 25 años.
I am 25 years old.
Swap the number, keep the structure — this sentence works for any age you say.
07 · When it's actually cold
Tengo mucho frío.
I am very cold.
Not 'estoy frío' — that would describe an object. A person always tiene frío.
08 · Backing someone up
Tú tienes razón.
You are right.
Being 'right' in Spanish is something you have, not something you are.
09 · Admitting you're nervous
Tengo miedo.
I am afraid.
Fear works the same as hunger and cold — tengo, not soy or estoy.
10 · A stroke of good fortune
Ella tiene suerte.
She is lucky.
One more feeling that belongs to tener — luck is something you have, in Spanish and nowhere else.
11 · Just one of the things tener does
Tengo que estudiar español esta noche.
I have to study Spanish tonight.
Add que and tener also handles obligation — one verb, this many jobs.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/tener-titanRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| how old are you? | ¿cuántos años tienes? | ¿cuántos años tenés? |
| you're right | tienes toda la razón | tenés razón, che |
| are you thirsty? | ¿tienes sed? | ¿tenés sed, che? |
| have to work tomorrow (slang) | tengo que chambear mañana | tenés que laburar mañana |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
No conjugation tables here — in the Tener Titan lessons you use the verb the way you'll actually need it. Carla starts with a self-introduction beat: your age, your family, your pets — tengo 30 años, tengo un hermano, tengo un gato. Then a check-in on how you feel right now — hungry, thirsty, sleepy, cold — answered with tengo + the noun, while she stretches the ie in tienes so the stem change sticks in your ear. She closes by asking what you have to do today, and you list it with tengo que — out loud, in a real exchange.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 8 lessons and Tener Titan is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tienen. Two irregularities: the yo form takes -go (tengo, never teno), and tú/él/ellos shift the stem e→ie (tienes, tiene, tienen).
Spanish treats age as something you have: tengo 25 años, and to ask, ¿cuántos años tienes? Saying soy 25 años is the classic English-speaker slip — tener, not ser.
tengo hambre — with tener, not estar. Same family: tengo sed (thirsty), tengo sueño (sleepy), tengo mucho frío (very cold), tenemos calor hoy (we're hot today).
To feel like doing something: tengo ganas de comer, tengo ganas de tomar un café — or in Mexico, with the affectionate diminutive, tengo ganas de un cafecito. The verb after de stays in the infinitive.
Learn them as chunks: tú tienes razón (you're right), tengo miedo (I'm scared), ella tiene suerte (she's lucky), tengo prisa (I'm in a hurry). Each pairs tener with a noun where English would use to be.