The Verb Tener — Cheat Sheet

What's inside

Four pages: the cheat sheet on page one, then 40 practice sentences across five sets, with an answer key that gives the reason for every answer.

Page 1 — the cheat sheet

• The five present-tense forms — tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tienen — and the two patterns behind them, so the next dozen verbs come free.
• Age the Spanish way: tener + number + años, and why ser never works there.
• Ten states you have rather than are — hunger, thirst, sleepiness, cold, heat, fear, hurry, being right, luck and care — plus tener ganas de for what you feel like doing.
• The size word those take: mucho / mucha, never muy.
• Obligation: tener que + infinitive, and hay que when nobody is named.
• How to read no tener que — usually the obligation is simply lifted; for zero doubt say no hace falta, and for a real ban no debes or no puedes.

Pages 2–4 — 40 practice sentences with answers

• A — the five forms, and using them to say what you have.
• B — your age, including the sentences to fix.
• C — the have-not-be family: hunger, thirst, heat, hurry, being right, fear, luck and ganas.
• D — tener que and hay que, including which one names who is obliged.
• E — reading the negative, so a friendly no tienes que pagar is never mistaken for a ban.
• An answer key with the one-line reason each answer works.

Who it's for

Beginners — Beginner level, A2 on the CEFR scale. Latin American Spanish, with ustedes throughout; the Spain-only form is footnoted rather than taught.