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tenerlos

te-NEHR-lohsteˈneɾlos

“tenerlos” means “to have them” in Spanish (referring to masculine or mixed-gender plural objects or people).

to have them

Also: to hold them
VerbA1irregular er
Spain
A person holding several red apples in their arms.
gerundteniendo
past Participletenido
infinitivetener

📝 In Action

Tus libros están en la mesa, puedes tenerlos.

A1

Your books are on the table; you can have them.

Me encantan estos perros y quiero tenerlos en casa.

A1

I love these dogs and I want to have them at home.

Si tienes los documentos, es mejor tenerlos organizados.

A2

If you have the documents, it's better to have them organized.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • poseerlos (to possess them)
  • sujetarlos (to hold them)

Antonyms

  • perderlos (to lose them)
  • soltarlos (to let them go)

Common Collocations

  • querer tenerlos – to want to have them
  • poder tenerlos – to be able to have them
  • necesitar tenerlos – to need to have them

Idioms & Expressions

  • tenerlos bien puestos – to have a lot of courage or guts

Subjunctive

Imperfect Subjunctive

yolos tuviera
túlos tuvieras
él/ella/ustedlos tuviera
nosotroslos tuviéramos
vosotroslos tuvierais
ellos/ellas/ustedeslos tuvieran

Present Subjunctive

yolos tenga
túlos tengas
él/ella/ustedlos tenga
nosotroslos tengamos
vosotroslos tengáis
ellos/ellas/ustedeslos tengan

Indicative

Preterite

yolos tuve
túlos tuviste
él/ella/ustedlos tuvo
nosotroslos tuvimos
vosotroslos tuvisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedeslos tuvieron

Imperfect

yolos tenía
túlos tenías
él/ella/ustedlos tenía
nosotroslos teníamos
vosotroslos teníais
ellos/ellas/ustedeslos tenían

Present

yolos tengo
túlos tienes
él/ella/ustedlos tiene
nosotroslos tenemos
vosotroslos tenéis
ellos/ellas/ustedeslos tienen
View All Tenses & Moods →

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: tenerlos

Question 1 of 1

If you are talking about 'los gatos' (the cats), how would you say 'I want to have them'?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
tener(to have) — Verb
tenencia(possession/holding) — Noun
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼

A combination of the Spanish verb 'tener' (from Latin 'tenēre' meaning to hold/keep) and the pronoun 'los' (from Latin 'illōs' meaning those/them).

First recorded: Medieval Spanish (as separate components that gradually fused in specific grammatical structures).

Cognates (Related words)

Portuguese: tê-losItalian: tenerli

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Frequently Asked Questions

When do I put 'los' at the end versus at the beginning?

Put 'los' at the end when the verb is in the infinitive (tenerlos), gerund (teniéndolos), or an affirmative command (tenlos). Put it before the verb in most other cases (los tengo).

Can 'tenerlos' refer to people?

Yes! If you are talking about a group of boys or a mixed group of people, you can say 'es bueno tenerlos aquí' (it's good to have them here).