tenido

/teh-NEE-doh/

had

A smiling cartoon character holding a bright red balloon on a string, illustrating the simple act of having or possessing something in the past.

As the past participle of tener, tenido means 'had' (possession or experience), often used with haber to form perfect tenses (e.g., he tenido - I have had).

tenido(Verb (Past Participle))

had

Used with 'haber' to form perfect tenses, e.g., 'I have had'

Also:

gotten

e.g., 'hemos tenido problemas' (we have gotten into problems)

received

e.g., 'hemos tenido noticias' (we have received news)

📝 In Action

He tenido un día muy ocupado.

I have had a very busy day.

¿Alguna vez has tenido un perro?

Have you ever had a dog?

No habíamos tenido la oportunidad de hablar.

We hadn't had the chance to talk.

Word Connections

Common Collocations

he tenido que – I have had to
haber tenido – to have had
había tenido – I/he/she had had

💡 Grammar Points

Building 'Have Done' Sentences

Use tenido with a form of the helper verb haber (like 'he', 'has', 'ha') to talk about things that 'have happened'. For example, he tenido means 'I have had'. Think of haber + tenido as a two-word team.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Using 'ser/estar' instead of 'haber'

Mistake: "Estoy tenido un problema."

Correction: He tenido un problema. (I have had a problem). To say you 'have had' something, you must use the helper verb `haber`, not `ser` or `estar`.

⭐ Usage Tips

The Unchanging Form

When you use tenido with haber (like in he tenido or habíamos tenido), the word tenido always ends in '-o'. It doesn't change to tenida even if you're talking about something feminine, like 'una idea'.

An audience looking up admiringly at a respected speaker on a platform, symbolizing someone being 'regarded as' or 'considered' important.

In formal contexts, the adjective tenido (or tenida) means 'considered' or 'regarded as' (e.g., tenido por - regarded as).

tenido(Adjective)

mC1

considered

regarded as, held to be

Also:

regarded as

e.g., 'regarded as an expert'

held as

e.g., 'held as the best'

📝 In Action

Es un director tenido por muy exigente.

He is a director considered to be very demanding.

Era una científica tenida en alta estima por sus colegas.

She was a scientist held in high esteem by her colleagues.

Word Connections

Synonyms

considerado (considered)
reputado (reputed)

Antonyms

ignorado (ignored)

Common Collocations

tenido por – considered as / taken for
tenido en – held in (e.g., held in high esteem)

💡 Grammar Points

Matching the Noun

When used this way, tenido acts like any other adjective and must match the person or thing it describes in both gender and number. For example: un hombre tenido but una mujer tenida.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Forgetting to Match Gender

Mistake: "La jueza es tenido por muy justa."

Correction: La jueza es tenida por muy justa. Because 'jueza' (female judge) is feminine, the adjective describing her must also be feminine: `tenida`.

⭐ Usage Tips

A Formal Choice

This use of tenido sounds quite formal. In everyday conversation, people are much more likely to use the word considerado to say the same thing.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: tenido

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence uses 'tenido' to mean 'considered' or 'regarded as'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

tener(to have) - verb

tenencia(possession, ownership) - noun

mantener(to maintain) - verb

sostener(to sustain, to hold) - verb

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't 'tenido' change to 'tenida' in the sentence 'He tenido una idea' if 'idea' is feminine?

Great question! When `tenido` is part of a verb phrase with `haber` (like `he tenido`), its job is just to complete the verb's action. In this role, it's a past participle and it always stays as `tenido`. It only changes to `tenida` when it's acting alone as an adjective to describe a feminine noun, like in the more formal phrase `una idea tenida por genial` (an idea considered brilliant).