How to say I have / you have in Spanish (possession)

"I have/you have" in Spanish

To talk about what "you have", for example, a house, a pet, a car, etc., we use the verb "tener(to have).

Have a look at the following examples:

Yo tengo un perro y un gato.I have a dog and a cat.

Tengo una casa grande.I have a big house.

Tengo dos hijas.I have two daughters.

Notice how you can drop the pronoun "yo". In Spanish pronouns are often not used.

To talk about someone else's possessions, you would use either "tienes" or "tiene", depending on the informality or formality used. Generally speaking, you would use "tienes" to talk about or ask someone you know well, a young person, or a child, and you'd use "tiene" to talk about or ask someone more formally, when you don't know the person, it is an elderly person or it's a formal context, like in a bank or interview:

¿Tienes dinero?Do you have [any] money?

¿Tiene un bolígrafo?Do you have a pen? (formal you)

¿Tiene usted familia en el pueblo?Do you have [any] family in town? (formal you)

Usted tiene un jardín muy bonito.You have a very pretty garden. (formal you)

Notice again that the pronoun "usted" can be omitted.

Remember: 

"Tengo" (I have)

"Tienes" (you have / do you have? [informal])

"Tiene" (you have / do you have? [formal])

See also Conjugate tener in the present tense in Spanish (El Presente)

 

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Examples and resources

Yo tengo un perro y un gato.I have a dog and a cat.
Tengo una casa grande.I have a big house.
Tengo dos hijas.I have two daughters.
¿Tienes dinero?Do you have [any] money?
¿Tiene un bolígrafo?Do you have a pen? (formal you)
¿Tiene usted familia en el pueblo?Do you have [any] family in town? (formal you)
Usted tiene un jardín muy bonito.You have a very pretty garden. (formal you)
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