A simple illustration of a boy holding a bright red ball and a girl hugging a large brown teddy bear, symbolizing that 'they had' those items.

tuvieron

too-vee-EH-rohn

verbA1irregular er

they had?possession or obligation,you all had?formal plural address (Ustedes)

Also:they experienced?referring to an event, e.g., 'they had fun',they received?e.g., 'they had a letter'

Quick Reference

infinitivetener

gerundteniendo

past Participletenido

📝 In Action

Ellos tuvieron mucha suerte en el sorteo.

They had a lot of luck in the raffle.

Ustedes tuvieron que esperar dos horas.

You all had to wait two hours.

Mis padres tuvieron un coche rojo cuando eran jóvenes.

My parents had a red car when they were young.

Word Connections

Synonyms

poseer (to possess)
obtener (to obtain)

Antonyms

carecer (to lack)

Common Collocations

tuvieron un accidente – they had an accident
tuvieron éxito – they had success

Idioms & Expressions

tener lugar – to take place

💡 Grammar Points

Who Did the Action?

‘Tuvieron’ is the action of 'they' (ellos/ellas) or 'you all' (ustedes) in the past. It shows that multiple people completed the action of 'having'.

The Irregular Past Stem

The verb 'tener' is tricky in the simple past (Preterite). Instead of using the base 'ten-', it uses the special stem 'tuv-' for all its forms, like 'tuve' and 'tuvieron'.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Mixing Past Tenses

Mistake: "Usando 'tenían' cuando se refiere a una acción terminada. (Using 'tenían' when referring to a finished action.)"

Correction: 'Tenían' describes a state or a habit in the past ('They used to have'), but 'tuvieron' describes a single, finished event ('They had [at that moment]').

⭐ Usage Tips

Quick Past Action

Use 'tuvieron' when describing a specific, one-time event that happened and finished, such as 'They had a great dinner' or 'They had to leave quickly'.

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

él/ella/ustedtiene

yotengo

tútienes

ellos/ellas/ustedestienen

nosotrostenemos

vosotrostenéis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedtenía

yotenía

tútenías

ellos/ellas/ustedestenían

nosotrosteníamos

vosotrosteníais

preterite

él/ella/ustedtuvo

yotuve

tútuviste

ellos/ellas/ustedestuvieron

nosotrostuvimos

vosotrostuvisteis

subjunctive

present

él/ella/ustedtenga

yotenga

tútengas

ellos/ellas/ustedestengan

nosotrostengamos

vosotrostengáis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedtuviera

yotuviera

tútuvieras

ellos/ellas/ustedestuvieran

nosotrostuviéramos

vosotrostuvierais

View All Tenses & Moods →

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: tuvieron

Question 1 of 2

Which sentence correctly uses 'tuvieron' to describe a single, finished event?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

tener(to have) - verb

tenedor(fork (something that holds)) - noun

obtener(to obtain) - verb

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'tuvieron' used for 'they had' or 'you all had'?

It is used for both! It translates to 'they had' (ellos/ellas) and the formal 'you all had' (ustedes). The context usually makes it clear who you are referring to.

How do I know when to use 'tuvieron' (Preterite) versus 'tenían' (Imperfect)?

'Tuvieron' (Preterite) is for actions that started and finished at a specific point in the past (e.g., 'They had a party'). 'Tenían' (Imperfect) is for descriptions, ongoing states, or repeated habits in the past (e.g., 'They had long hair').