We use El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo in some subordinate clauses and in particularly polite requests.
Learn how to conjugate tener in El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo in Spanish
Rather unusually, this tense has two conjugation forms. Take a look at tener conjugations in El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo:
Conjugation 1 (used widely in speech in Spain, Latin America and South America)
| yo | tuviera |
| tú | tuvieras |
| él / ella / Ud. | tuviera |
| nosotros | tuviéramos |
| vosotros | tuvierais |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | tuvieran |
Conjugation 2 (used more in written language and in Spain)
| yo | tuviese |
| tú | tuvieses |
| él / ella / Ud. | tuviese |
| nosotros | tuviésemos |
| vosotros | tuvieseis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | tuviesen |
Read and listen to these examples:
Quizás yo tuviera una escoba para barrer.Maybe I had a broom to sweep up with.
Quizás yo tuviese un amante en Teruel.I might have had a lover in Teruel.
Quizás tú tuvieras muchos amigos en Inglaterra.Maybe you had lots of friends in England.
No estaría bien que tú tuvieses tanto tiempo libre.It wouldn't be good if you had that much free time.
Sería positivo que ella tuviera más apoyo de sus profesores.It would be good if she had more support from her teachers.
No aceptaba que su amigo tuviera una serpiente en casa.She couldn't accept that her friend had a snake at home.
Ojalá nosotros tuviéramos más fotos del viaje.I wish we had more pictures of the trip.
Ojalá nosotras tuviésemos mucho dinero para gastar.I wish we had a lot of money to spend.
No sabía que vosotros tuviérais una casa en la playa.I didn't know that you had a house at the beach.
No pensaba que vosotras tuviéseis problemas con la justicia.I didn't think that you had problems with the law.
Tal vez ellos tuvieran motivos para no venir.Maybe they had a reason for not coming.
Tal vez ellas tuviesen demasiado equipaje en el avión.Maybe they had too much luggage in the plane.
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