Inklingo

How to Say "they possess" in Spanish

The Spanish word forthey possessis tienenA1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA1
VerbA1
more formal
Three happy cartoon children standing next to a shiny new toy wagon they possess.

Examples

Ellos tienen un coche nuevo.

They have a new car.

Ustedes tienen dos hijos, ¿verdad?

You (all) have two children, right?

Mis vecinos tienen un perro muy ruidoso.

My neighbors have a very noisy dog.

Who are 'they' or 'you'?

'Tienen' is the form for 'ellos' (a group of men, or mixed), 'ellas' (a group of women), and 'ustedes' (you all). In Spain, 'ustedes' is formal, but in Latin America, it's used for both formal and informal 'you all'.

Using 'Haber' for Possession

Mistake:Mis amigos han un perro.

Correction: Use 'tener' for possession. Say 'Mis amigos tienen un perro.' The verb 'haber' (like 'han') is usually for building other verb tenses, not for saying you own something.

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