17 The Irregular Verb ‘To Have’ (verbo irregular ‘to have’)

to have :: tener

continuous tense (progresivo)
having

as a main verb: (verbo primero:)
We have a lot of homework. / Tenemos mucha tarea.
I have a car. / Tengo un carro.
When did you have dinner? / ¿Cuándo comió usted la cena?
You had a cat. / Tuviste un gato.

as an auxiliary verb: (verbo auxiliar:)
They had walked home. / Habían camindo a casa.
Have you talked to María? / ¿Ha hablado usted con María?
I will have eaten the food. / Habré comido la comida.

>> As an auxiliary verb, ‘to have’ is always followed by the main verb used with the past participle (-ed) to form the perfect tense. (Como un verbo auxiliar, ‘to have’ siempre es seguido del verbo principal usando con el participio pasado, ‘-ed’ para formar el tiempo perfecto.)

examples: (ejemplos:)
They had walked home. = past perfect tense (pasado perfecto)
Have you talked to María? = present perfect tense (presente perfecto)
I will have eaten the food. = future perfect tense (futuro perfecto)

Contractions with ‘To Have’ (contracciones con el verbo ‘to have’)
There are contractions with the verb ‘to have’ in the present and past negative tenses. (Hay contracciones con el verbo ‘to be’ en presente y pasado negativo.)

present tense (presente)
have + not = haven’t
has + not = hasn’t

past tense (pasado)
had + not = hadn’t

Uses of ‘to have’ (Usos de ‘to have’)
(1) Indicate posession (indica posesión): She has a house in the city. / Tiene una casa en la ciudad.
(2) Take things (tomar alimentos): I have breakfast in the morning. / Tomo el desayuno en la mañana. I don’t have coffee. / No tomo café.
(3) To give (dar una fiesta, un paseo, una mirada, ...): We had a party yesterday. / Damos una fiesta ayer. I have a walk on Saturday mornings. / Doy un paseo los sábados por la mañana. Can I have a look at your magazine? / ¿Puedo dar un vistazo a su revista?


Exercise (ejercicio)
Instructions: conjugate the following verbs in the correct form. (Instrucciones: conjugue los siguientes verbos en la forma correcta.)

+ to use, it / - to play, the dog / - to learn, you / - to be, they / - to name, we / - to hate, she / + to open, the banks / - to be, I

present tense, past tense, future tense, continuous tense, español