Tener preterite conjugation
Tener in the preterite: tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron.
- to have; to hold
- irregular
- Participle: tenido
- Gerund: teniendo
Preterite pretérito
| yo | tuve |
|---|---|
| tú | tuviste |
| él/ella/usted | tuvo |
| nosotros | tuvimos |
| vosotros | tuvisteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tuvieron |
How to use tener in the preterite
The preterite of tener uses the stem tuv-: tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvieron, with no written accents. Its meaning often shifts toward "got" or "had (an event)": "Tuve una idea" (I got an idea), "Tuvimos una reunión" (we had a meeting). "Tuve que" means you had to do something and actually did it, while "tenía que" leaves it open.
Examples
Tuvimos un problema con la entrega.
We had a problem with the delivery.
Ayer tuve una entrevista de trabajo.
I had a job interview yesterday.
Mi hermana tuvo un bebé en marzo.
My sister had a baby in March.
Quick check: tener in the preterite
More tener tenses
- All tener tenses
- Tener present
- Tener imperfect
- Tener future
- Tener conditional
- Tener present subjunctive
- Tener affirmative commands
Other verbs in the preterite
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