VERB TO HAVE

octubre 13, 2018

The verb 'to have' has in Spanish the main meaning of 'having' and 'having'. It can also have other meanings, such as 'take'. We will know its proper translation depending on the meaning of the phrase.

I have a new car / Tengo un coche nuevo
I have worked / He trabajado
I have coffee / Tomo café

INFINITIVO	PRETERITO	PARTICIPIO
to have haber, tener	hadhube, había, tuve, tenía	hadhabido, tenido

AFFIRMATIVE FORM	NEGATIVE FORM	INTERROGATIVE FORM
I have (I've)	I have not (I haven't)	have I?
he, tengo	no he, no tengo	¿he?, ¿hengo?
you have (you've)	you have not (you haven't)	have you?
has, tienes	no has, no tienes	¿has?, ¿tienes?
he has (he's)	he has not (he hasn't)	has he?
ha, tiene	no ha, no tiene	¿ha?, ¿tiene?
we have (we've)	we have not (we haven't)	have we?
hemos, tenemos	no hemos, no tenemos	¿hemos?, ¿tenemos?
you have (you've)	you have not (you haven't)	have you?
habéis, tenéis	no nabéis, no tenéis	¿habéis?, ¿tenéis?
they have (they've)	they have not (they haven't)	have they?
han, tienen	no han, no tienen	¿han?, ¿tienen?

Note that the third person singular is formed in an irregular manner (change from 'have' to 'has').

THE PRETÉRITO (which corresponds in Spanish to the indefinite preterite and the imperfect)

AFFIRMATIVE FORM	NEGATIVE FORM	INTERROGATIVE FORM
I had	I had not (I hadn't)	had I?
hube, había / tuve, tenía	no hube, no había / no tuve, no tenía	¿hube?, ¿había? / ¿tuve?, ¿tenía?
you had	you had not (you hadn't)	had you?
hubiste, habías / tuviste, tenías	no hubiste, no habías / no tuviste, no tenías	¿hubiste?, ¿habías? / ¿tuviste?, ¿tenías?
he had	he had not (he hadn't)	had he?
hubo, habia / tuvo, tenía	no hubo, no habia / no tuvo, no tenía	¿hubo?, ¿habia? / ¿tuvo?, ¿tenía?
we had	we had not (we hadn't)	had we?
hubimos, habíamos / tuvimos, teníamos	no hubimos, no habíamos / no tuvimos, no teníamos	¿hubimos?, ¿habíamos? / ¿tuvimos?, ¿teníamos?
you had	you had not (you hadn't)	had you?
hubisteis, habíais / tuvisteis, teníais	no hubisteis, no habíais / no tuvisteis, no teníais	¿hubisteis?, ¿habíais? / ¿tuvisteis?, ¿teníais?
they had	they had not (they hadn't)	had they?
hubieron, habían / tuvieron, tenían	no hubieron, no habían / no tuvieron, no tenían	¿hubieron?, ¿habían? / ¿tuvieron?, ¿tenían?

TO HAVE AS AN AUXILIARY

- It serves to form compound tenses when it accompanies the participle of verbs.

I have played / He jugado
I had played / Había jugado

- When it is followed by an infinitive, it is equivalent to the Spanish expression 'have that'.

I have to go / Tengo que ir
I have to read that book / Tengo que leer ese libro

Difference between have + to + infinitive and 'must'

'Must' in its sense of obligation, is used to give orders or to make someone or oneself comply with a certain commitment:

You must stop smoking / Tiene que dejar de fumar (Dice el médico)

When it comes to external orders imposed (laws, regulations, etc.) or dictated by third parties, it is more usual to use 'to have to'

The doctor says I have to stop smoking / El médico dice que tengo que dejar de fumar.

In a negative way, 'must not' expresses a prohibition. On the other hand, 'do not have' to indicates that something is not necessary, that is, there is no obligation.

You mustn't listen to other people's conversations. No debes escuchar las conversaciones de otras personas.
You don't have to listen to the speech if you don't want to. No tienes que escuchar el discurso si no quieres.

USES OF TO HAVE

- Indicates possession.

She has a big house in Ireland / Tiene una gran casa en Irlanda

- Take (food)

I have breakfast at seven in the morning / Tomo el desayuno a las siete de la mañana
I don't have coffee / Yo no tomo café

- Give (a party, a walk, a look ...)

We're having a party next Saturday / Vamos a dar una fiesta el próximo sábado
I usually have a walk on Saturday mornings / Normalmente doy un paseo los sábados por la mañana
Can I have a look at your magazine? / ¿Puedo dar un vistazo a su revista?

- It is commonly used in idioms (phrases). The most frequent structure (not the only one) is:

'to have' + 'a' + noun

To have a rest / Descansar
To have a swim / Nadar
To have a walk / Pasear

http://www.mansioningles.com/Gram38.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxQCBvBbdYw

EXERCISES:

Translate the following phrases into English:

1. John tiene un nuevo trabajo.

2. ¿Qué tienes en esa maleta?.

3. Tengo dos hijas.

4. Tienen muchos amigos en España.

5. ¿Tienes un minuto?.

Choose the correct PRESENT TENSE form of the verb TO HAVE for each sentence:

1. My sisters all _________ boyfriends.
  have
  has

2. The teacher ________ a yellow shirt.
  have
  has

3. My brother ________ a great job.
  has
  have

4. Does he ________ a dog?
  has
  have

5. They don't ________ a lot of money.
  have
  has

6. My cousin and his wife ________ three children.
  has
  have

7. Does your friend ________ a sister?
  has
  have

8. Yes, my friend ________ a sister.
  have
  has

9. My neighbor ________ a mailbox.
  doesn't have
  don't have

10. They ________ time to play with us.
  doesn't have
  don't have