tener Negative Imperative Conjugation
tener — to have
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no tengas, no tenga, no tengamos, no tengáis, no tengan.
tener Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use this to tell someone what NOT to have, such as 'don't have fear' (don't be afraid).
Notes on tener in the Negative Imperative
Unlike the affirmative 'tú' command (ten), the negative 'tú' command must use the subjunctive form (no tengas).
Example Sentences
No tengas miedo.
Don't be afraid.
tú
No tenga prisa, señor.
Don't be in a hurry, sir.
No tengamos dudas.
Let's not have doubts.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'no ten'.
Correct: Say 'no tengas'.
Why: Negative informal commands always switch to the subjunctive form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: tengo
Tener is a 'yo-go' verb with an e-ie stem change: tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen.
Preterite
yo: tuve
The preterite of tener is highly irregular with a 'uv' stem: tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron.
Imperfect
yo: tenía
Tener is completely regular in the imperfect: tenía, tenías, tenía, teníamos, teníais, tenían.
Future
yo: tendré
Tener uses the irregular stem 'tendr-': tendré, tendrás, tendrá, tendremos, tendréis, tendrán.
Conditional
yo: tendría
The conditional uses the irregular stem 'tendr-': tendría, tendrías, tendría, tendríamos, tendríais, tendrían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: tenga
The present subjunctive is based on the 'tengo' stem: tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: tuviera
This tense uses the 'tuvier-' stem: tuviera, tuvieras, tuviera, tuviéramos, tuvierais, tuvieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ten
The command forms are irregular: ten (tú), tenga (usted), tened (vosotros), tengan (ustedes).