" "   sliced graphic of title English Spanish Grammar Learning Clues   " "

   

Link to homepage
link to Introduction module



Selected Idioms with the verb "to have"

English: I am hungry
Spanish: tengo hambre;
English: I am thirsty
Spanish:Spanish: tengo sed
English: I feel like…
Spanish: tengo ganas de...
English: I am scared…
Spanish: tengo miedo
English: I am ashamed
Spanish: tengo pena
(page down)

In Spanish, the verb "to be" is expressed in many different ways. Besides the verbs "to be" "estar" and "ser" (refer to the Resources for the conjugation of these "to be" verbs), there are a large number of idioms that use the verb tener, "to have" in order to express "to be"; some examples are presented below.
You will just have to memorize these expressions, but hopefully, the literal translation of the Spanish to English will help.
It doesn't matter who is hungry; that person has hunger, or thirst, or fear, or shame, or feels like….

English: Juan is hungry
Spanish: tengo hambre
(page down)

English:
I am thirsty
I am scared
I am ashamed
I feel like…+ infinitive of a verb (English will have the -ing ending); example, "I feel like eating."

Spanish:
Tengo hambre
Tengo sed
Tengo miedo
Tengo pena
Tengo ganas de...+ infinitive of verb; example, "tengo ganas de comer."
(page down)

Literally, the expression is translated:
Tengo hambre (I have hunger)
Tengo sed (I have thirst)
Tengo miedo (I have fear)
Tengo pena (I have shame)
Tengo ganas de...+ infinitive of verb ( I have desire of...) - this is a loose translation; the only real translation is of the expression as a whole: I feel like...

The verb tener - "to have" is conjugated as follows:
English:
I have
you (Familiar, singular) have
he, she, you (formal, singular) have
we have
you (familiar, plural) have
they have, you (formal, plural) have
(page down)

Spanish:
yo tengo
tú tienes
él, ella, Ud. tiene
nosotros, -as tenemos
vosotros, -as teneis
ellos, ellas, Uds. tienen

So, using these pronoun subjects, how would you say the English of: :
he is hungry
we are thirsty
you (familiar, singular) are afraid
they are ashamed
I feel like studying.
(page down)

" "Spanish Spanish answers:
él tiene hambre
nosotros tenemos sed
tú tienes miedo
ellos tienen pena
yo tengo ganas de estudiar.

(to top)

 

 
BACK
           
NEXT
Home
Introduction
Vocabulary
Position
Possessive
Objects
Resources
Contact Us
©2003 HLS Productions
http://web.utk.edu/~hspiegel/spanish/default.html
revised April 28, 2003