¿tienes un perro?
The English phrase "do you have a dog?" is translated into Spanish as ¿tienes un perro?
This phrase is used to inquire whether a person owns a dog.
Which one should you use?
In Spanish, the subject tú (you) is often omitted because the verb form tienes already indicates that the subject is "you".
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb form tienes is the informal singular "you" form of the verb tener (to have).
When do people say it?
If someone asks you this, a natural way to answer "yes" is Sí, tengo un perro. To answer "no", you can say No, no tengo perro or No, no tengo un perro.
Did you know?
- While perro means dog, the word perra is frequently used as a strong slang insult toward women or to describe a greedy person.
- The verb tener in ¿tienes un perro? is used for many internal states that English describes with 'to be', such as tener miedo for 'to be afraid'.
- The word perro originally meant a 'cur' or a lowly, mongrel dog. It eventually replaced the more formal Latin-derived word can to become the standard term we use today.
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are talking about pets in a park.
- ElenaAlejandro, ¿tienes un perro?Alejandro, do you have a dog?
- AlejandroNo, pero quiero uno.No, but I want one.
- ElenaYo sí tengo uno muy juguetón.I do have a very playful one.
- Alejandro¡Qué divertido!How fun!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries perro, un, CC BY-SA 4.0.
