tienen
/tjenen/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'they have' is translated as tienen.
This phrase is used to say that a group of people or things possesses something.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, it is common to use the phrase disponen de as a more formal alternative for 'they have'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form tienen is the third-person plural conjugation of the verb tener (to have).
How do you pronounce it?
/tjenen/
Did you know?
- While tienen means 'they have', it is used in the phrase tienen razón to say 'they are right'. In this context, the verb refers to possessing the truth rather than owning an object.
- While tienen means 'they have', it is also the standard way to say 'they are' when talking about age, hunger or thirst. For example, to say 'they are twenty years old', a speaker says tienen veinte años.
- In Spanish, tienen can be used without a subject pronoun because the ending -en already specifies that 'they' are the ones who have something. Including the word ellos is often unnecessary and can change the emphasis of the sentence.
Examples in context
- No sé lo que tienen.I don't know what they have.This sentence is useful for expressing uncertainty about what something is that they have.Tatoeba #11671338 by Seael, translation #11671336 by tieguy
- No tienen por qué ir.They have no reason to go.This sentence shows how to say they have no reason to do something.Tatoeba #6591350 by arh, translation #12995826 by rul
- Tienen algo en común.They have something in common.This sentence is used to say they possess a commonality.Tatoeba #6592868 by arh, translation #306754 by CK
- Ellos tienen una hermosa casaThey have a beautiful house
- Ellos disponen de los recursos necesariosThey have the necessary resources
- Ellos cuentan con un excelente equipoThey have an excellent team
- Ellos tienen un perro adorableThey have an adorable dog
- Ellos tienen a María como su líderThey have María as their leader
- Ellos poseen una gran cantidad de conocimientoThey have a great amount of knowledge
- Ellos tienen de mascota un gatoThey have a cat as a pet
- Ellos tienen a su cargo la supervisión del proyectoThey have the responsibility of project supervision
- Ellos disponen de un amplio catálogo de productosThey have a wide product catalog
- 138 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are talking about their neighbors.
- AlejandroEsos vecinos son muy amables.Those neighbors are very kind.
- LucíaSí, ellos tienen un perro muy grande.Yes, they have a very big dog.
- Alejandro¿De verdad tienen un perro?Do they really have a dog?
- LucíaSí, lo tienen en el jardín.Yes, they have it in the garden.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
