tuvimos
/tubimos/from spelling rules
tuvimos is the Spanish way to say "we had" in the first-person plural preterite tense.
tuvimos is used to express that a specific, completed event or state of having something occurred in the past. It is a form of the verb *tener*.
Which one should you use?
Use tuvimos to refer to a specific completed event in the past. In contrast, use teníamos when you want to say "we used to have" or "we were having," which describes an ongoing state or a habitual action in the past.
How does it change in a sentence?
tuvimos is the preterite (completed past) form of the verb *tener* for the first-person plural "we".
How do you pronounce it?
/tubimos/
Did you know?
- The verb *tener* is used in many idiomatic expressions where English uses 'to be', such as tuvimos miedo for 'we were afraid' or tuvimos hambre for 'we were hungry'.
- The stem tuv- in tuvimos is an irregular form that differs completely from the present tense root ten-, a remnant of the Latin verb tenere.
- In certain contexts, tuvimos can express a sudden occurrence rather than just possession, such as 'tuvimos un accidente' which means 'we had an accident' or 'an accident happened to us'.
Examples in context
- Tuvimos una reunión muy productiva hoy.We had a very productive meeting today.
- Nosotros tuvimos la oportunidad de presentar nuestra propuesta.We had the opportunity to present our proposal.
- Tuvimos una gran fiesta ayer.We had an amazing party yesterday.
- Tuvimos un increíble día en la playa, ¡nadamos y construimos castillos de arena!We had an amazing day at the beach, we swam and built sandcastles!
- Tuvimos mucha suerte en el viaje.We had a lot of luck on the trip.
- Tuvimos que cancelar la cita.We had to cancel the appointment.
- Tuvimos una idea excelente ayer.We had an excellent idea yesterday.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are talking about their weekend.
- MateoHola Lucía, ¿cómo estuvo tu fin de semana?Hi Lucía, how was your weekend?
- LucíaMuy bien, tuvimos una cena familiar.Very good, we had a family dinner.
- Mateo¡Qué bueno! ¿Fue en tu casa?That's great! Was it at your house?
- LucíaSí, tuvimos invitados de otras ciudades.Yes, we had guests from other cities.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
