tener — Preterite (Pretérito)
to have
The preterite conjugation of tener (irregular go-verb + stem-changing, ranked #3). Describes completed past actions with a clear start and end. Key signals: ayer, el lunes pasado, de repente.
Drill the preterite tense with spaced repetition Practice tener and 965 other verbs in the Conjugado app — free to try.
Practice for free ↗ | Pronoun | Preterite conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | tuve * |
| tú | tuviste * |
| él/ella/Ud. | tuvo * |
| nosotros | tuvimos * |
| vosotros | tuvisteis * |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tuvieron * |
* Red forms deviate from the regular -er preterite pattern.
Example sentence
Tuve un problema ayer.
I had a problem yesterday.
Other tenses of tener
See full conjugation table for tener →Related verbs
See all 1,316 verbs in the preterite tense
Browse Preterite tense →