¿Por qué no tener los dos?
/poɾ ˈke ˈno teˈneɾ los ˈdos/word by word
The English phrase "why not have both?" is translated into Spanish as ¿Por qué no tener los dos?
This phrase is used as a suggestion to encourage someone to choose or keep two options instead of picking only one.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of por qué (why), no (not), tener (to have) and los dos (the two/both).
Which one should you use?
While ¿Por qué no tener los dos? is a standard way to express the idea, you can also say ¿Por qué no tener ambos? to sound slightly more polished. For a very brief, informal version, you can simply say ¿Por qué no los dos?
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase, replacing los dos with ambos is a common way to say "both" in Spanish.
How do you pronounce it?
/poɾ ˈke ˈno teˈneɾ los ˈdos/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the verb tener does not just mean 'to have' in the sense of possession, but is also used to express physical sensations or ages, such as tener hambre for 'to be hungry'.
- Depending on the region, a Spanish speaker might respond to a choice between two things with the phrase los dos as a playful way to avoid making a decision, often accompanied by a shrug.
- In the past tense, the forms of tener were altered because people confused them with the similar verb haber.
Examples in context
- Oye, ¿por qué no los dos? No tienes que elegir, disfruta de ambos sabores de helado.Hey, why not both? You don't have to choose, enjoy both ice cream flavors.
- En lugar de preocuparnos por elegir uno, ¿por qué no tener los dos? Gracias a ambos, nuestro proyecto será más completo.Instead of worrying about choosing one, why not have both? Thanks to both, our project will be more complete.
Example conversation
María and Daniel are looking at two different cakes at a bakery.
- MaríaNo sé cuál elegir, el de chocolate o el de fresa.I don't know which one to choose, the chocolate or the strawberry.
- DanielSe ven deliciosos, ¿por qué no tener los dos?They look delicious, why not have both?
- María¡Tienes razón! Vamos a comprarlos.You're right! Let's buy them.
- DanielSería el postre perfecto.It would be the perfect dessert.
